Turkish media are coming under what local journalists have described as one of the worst crackdowns in the republic’s history in the run-up to crucial parliamentary elections that may put an end to over a decade of single-party rule by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Justice and Development party (AKP), the Guardian reports.

Journalists critical of Erdogan or government policies have been fired from newspapers seen as close to the president and even assaulted, while offices of pro-opposition media outlets have been raided in what observers say is a broad campaign to intimidate voices demanding change and accountability in Ankara.

“It’s the biggest crackdown on press in Turkish history,” said Tarik Toros, the editor-in-chief of the television station Bugun, which on Wednesday, October 28 was taken off the air by security officers during a raid, with Toros taking refuge in the station’s control room before being forced out by police.

Various corruption investigations have also chipped away at the AKP’s popularity, along with the rise of charismatic opposition leader Selahattin Demirtas, who heads the pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic party (HDP) and won enough votes in June to secure representation in parliament.

Officially, the raid against Toros’s TV station was billed as a takeover after a court-appointed panel allegedly found financial irregularities. A spokesman for the Turkish government said the raid was part of a criminal investigation into the activities of the channel’s parent company, not an attack on freedom of expression.

Still, critics claim the raid, footage of which has been widely distributed on social media, was an act of revenge after the channel aired interviews with opposition figures including Demirtaş.

Cumhuriyet is facing a series of lawsuits under a law that criminalizes insults to the president, a legal tactic used frequently in recent months and years as the newspaper pursued corruption investigations against the Turkish leadership and published a report alleging that Turkish intelligence trucks were smuggling arms to rebels in Syria.

“This is really unprecedented in Turkish history,” said Ahmet Hakan, a prominent columnist with the mainstream newspaper Hurriyet and TV host, who was assaulted earlier this month by AKP supporters who broke his nose and ribs, accusing him of advocating for Demirtas.