Turkish court imposes access block on news portals

The International and the  European Federation of Journalists (IFJ/EFJ) call on Turkish authorities to cancel the outrageous decision of Ankara 3rd Peace Judge to block access to 136 websites and social media accounts.

bianet

Ankara 3rd Peace Judge Hasan Demirtas decided on 16 July to block access to 136 internet resources, including bianet and Gazete Fersude news portals, on the basis of “national security” (article 8/A of İnternet Law).

The ban targets 15 websites and dozens of social media accounts (on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Youtube, Pinterest).

The court’s unjustified ruling prevents access to at least 200,000 news stories which has been broadcasting on bianet since November 2000.

The court decision was unanimously condemned yesterday as an arbitrary and unlawful decision by the IFJ/EFJ affiliates in Turkey (TGSTGCDISK Basin-Is).

The IFJ/EFJ reported the case to the Council of Europe Platform for the Protection of Journalism.

IFJ General secretary Anthony Bellanger said: "This is an act of censorship and a big blow to press freedom and democracy. We stand in solidarity with colleagues in Turkey and demand the order be lifted".

EFJ General Secretary Ricardo Gutiérrez said: "This massive act of censorship is totally arbitrary and unjustified. We demand the immediate review of this outrageous judicial decision”.

For more information, please contact IFJ on +32 2 235 22 16

The IFJ represents more than 600,000 journalists in 146 countries

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