JOURNALISTS hit back at Turkey’s government yesterday over the forced shutdown of left-wing, pro-Kurdish TV station Hayatin Sesi.

British-based journalists at the network called a press conference in north London yesterday evening to protest the draconian moves under the ongoing state of emergency in Turkey.

They urged media unions including Britain’s NUJ to back their campaign and join a rally outside Downing Street on October 15.

The Radio & Television Supreme Council (RTUK) has used emergency powers imposed after July’s failed military coup to close dozens of media outlets, including 14 TV and 11 radio stations.

Hayatin Sesi London journalist Orhan Dil said the authority cut the satellite frequencies of his and other networks on September 28, leaving them only available online.

Mr Dil said police raided the offices of those stations and others on Tuesday, seizing equipment and sending it to state broadcasting authority TRT.

He said staff at Ozgur Radio were beaten and 18 arrested, then released the next day without charge.

There was a protest against the raids and confiscations in Istanbul’s Galatasaray Square on Tuesday, but Mr Dil said there were no opposition media left to cover it while pro-government outlets ignored the event.

The crackdown was not limited to Turkey, as on Monday French authorities halted broadcasts by pro-Kurdish channel Med Nuce.

“We believe after TV and radio stations they will attack daily newspapers and publishers too,” Mr Dil warned.

“The closure of opposition media is a serious blow to the freedom of the press and people’s right to the news, and we call on all those in support of democracy to show solidarity with Hayatin Sesi.”