TURKEY THREATENS TO BAN TWITTER, FACEBOOK AGAIN
January 14, 2015 – 17:04 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net – Turkish authorities have warned that all websites
publishing records allegedly related to Syrian-bound trucks belonging
to the Turkish intelligence agency that were stopped by a prosecutor
last year will be banned, presaging a possible new ban on Twitter
and Facebook.
Twitter has quickly removed the content, while many other websites
have not yet complied, Hurriyet Daily News reports.
On Jan 2, 2014, two Syria-bound trucks belonging to Turkey’s National
Intelligence Organization (MÄ°T) were stopped by a prosecutor who
sought to have the gendarmerie search the vehicles. The following
month, a Turkish court issued a ban on the publication of news related
to the incident.
A number of documents were leaked online on Jan 13 this year. The
proceedings related to the search allegedly show that arms belonging
to MÄ°T were found in the trucks. Speculation has been rife that the
arms were destined for jihadists in Syria.
Turkish officials, now equipped with the authority to block websites
even without a court ruling, warned that the gag order would be
strictly imposed on the Internet. Any website, including Facebook and
Twitter, will be blocked if they do not remove the leaked documents.
Twitter quickly withheld the sanctioned content Wednesday, Jan 14,
dodging the possible Turkish ban. Facebook, on the other hand,
has not yet complied with the decision, Turkish authorities said,
noting that the talks were continuing.
“There are several court decisions against the websites that published
the signed proceedings,” a Turkish official told daily Hurriyet,
stressing that the “procedure is ongoing.”
Turkey blocked access to Twitter, hours after then-Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed to close down the social media platform
in March 2014.
YouTube was banned in Turkey the same month, after a top-secret
government meeting on Syria was leaked allegedly depicting government
officials discussing a possible false-flag operation on Turkey in an
effort to drag Turkey into Syria’s war.
The Constitutional Court unblocked Twitter on April 2, 2014, and
YouTube on May 29, 2014, citing freedom of expression, but the ruling
drew the ire of the government.