Turkey: Trustees enter Zaman HQ under police protection

ISTANBUL

Police dispersed a group of protesters late on Friday who had gathered outside the building of the Feza Gazetecilik media group in Istanbul’s Yenibosna area after it was placed under the control of a trustees panel.

Earlier on Friday, an Istanbul court had decided to appoint trustees for Zaman newspaper, a daily linked to U.S.-based cleric Fetullah Gulen.

The trustees entered the headquarter of Feza Gazatecilik Media group -- which  includes Turkish Cihan News Agency, Today’s Zaman and Zaman dailies, Aksiyon magazine along with Zaman Kitap -- under police supervision.

The company is accused of supporting of what is called the Gulenist Terror Organization, headed by U.S.-based preacher Fetullah Gulen, who is said to have infiltrated Turkey’s state apparatus with thousands of followers in an effort to overthrow the government.

Known also by the initials FETO/PDY, the parallel state designates a clandestine group of Turkish bureaucrats and senior officials, allegedly embedded in the country’s institutions, including the judiciary and the police.