Gülen-linked TV stations removed from top satellite network

ANKARA

Thirteen radio stations and television channels owned by the Samanyolu Media Group have been removed from Türksat, Turkey’s top satellite network, daily Hürriyet has reported.

Among the TV channels removed from the Türksat were Samanyolu Haber TV, Mehtap TV, Yumurcak TV and Dünya TV, all owned by the Samanyolu Media Group.

The channels were previously removed from Digitürk, one of Turkey’s leading pay satellite networks, in late October, along with several other broadcasters owned by the Koza İpek Media Group.

An Ankara prosecutor’s office ordered in late October that the Koza İpek Media Group to be placed under the management of a trustee panel during the investigation into the media group’s purported ties to the U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gülen.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and leading figures from the Justice and Development Party (AKP) have long accused Gülen of heading a purported terrorist organization to topple the Turkish government with his followers working as insiders in the police, judiciary and other state institutions.