Harsh reaction from European Democrats to Erdoğan: They shared a poster saying "Enemy of freedom"

The police operation carried out at the headquarters of Halk TV in Istanbul and the transfer of the channel's management to trustees also had repercussions in Europe. While discussions on press freedom and democracy in Türkiye are on the agenda again, the European Democratic Party (EDP) made a remarkable post targeting AKP's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Türkiye, which ranks 163rd out of 180 countries in Reporters Without Borders' (RSF) 2026 World Press Freedom Index, has also entered the agenda of political circles in Europe after the Halk TV operation.

The European Democratic Party reacted to the pressure faced by journalists, opposition politicians and citizens defending freedom of expression in Türkiye by criticizing the statement made on its social media account with harsh words.

WHAT WAS INCLUDED IN THE STATEMENT?

In the statement published on its X account, the European Democratic Party stated that a police raid was carried out on Halk TV's headquarters in Istanbul, journalists were prevented from entering the building and live broadcasts were stopped.

The party stated that the trustee appointed by the state took over the management of the channel and stated that it was very angry about the developments in Türkiye.

The statement included the following statements:

This morning in Istanbul, Turkish police raided the headquarters of Halk TV, one of the country's leading opposition broadcasters. Journalists were prevented from entering the building, live broadcasts were halted, and a state-appointed trustee took control of the channel.

Continuing its statement, the party emphasized its support for the opposition in Türkiye and those who defend press freedom:

We feel deep anger at what is happening in Türkiye. We resolutely stand by Ekrem İmamoğlu, Özgür Özel, the democratic opposition and all journalists, activists, comedians and citizens who face intimidation, censorship or prison threats every day for defending freedom.

HARSH VISUAL AGAINST ERDOĞAN

President Erdoğan was directly targeted in the visual accompanying the European Democratic Party's statement.

Depicted against a dark and stormy sky, Erdoğan was shown smashing a large satellite dish with the Halk TV logo on it.

In the photomontage with political content, it was seen that the metal part of the antenna was broken and the pieces were scattered around, while Erdoğan's figure was placed in the center of the composition.

In the foreground of the image, the phrase "ENEMY OF FREEDOM" was written in capital letters. The logo of the European Democratic Party was used in the lower part.

EUROPEAN DEMOCRATIC PARTY

The European Democratic Party (EDP) is a European political party operating at the European Union level, consisting of centrist and European integration-advocating political parties.

Founded in 2004, EDP advocates strengthening European Union institutions, protecting democratic values, developing the rule of law and fundamental rights and freedoms.

The party operates as one of the political structures that took part in the formation of the Renew Europe political group in the European Parliament.

The European Democratic Party is not an institution that represents all political groups in the European Parliament; It is an independent political party organized at the European level.