Turkey blocks Twitter and YouTube following their refusal to take down a particular image

The government of Turkey blocked access to YouTube and Twitter in the country after both refused to take down images of a murdered Istanbul prosecutor. Facebook, on the other hand, said that it had complied with an order from a Turkish court which required it to restrict access to some content or face getting blocked. While complying with the court order, Facebook said it would appeal it.

Istanbul prosecutor Mehmet Selim Kiraz succumbed to his wounds last week after being held in captivity by the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C). The leftists took a picture of Kiraz with a gun to his head and threatened to kill him if their demands were not met. It is this image, which was posted on social media sites, that the Turkish courts want removed. A senior Turkish official explained, "The wife and children of prosecutor Kiraz have been deeply upset. The images are everywhere. "Presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said that a prosecutor was responsible for blocking the social media sites because he felt that "they were spreading terrorist propaganda." The presidential spokesman said that the court demanded that the image not be shared on any electronic platform.

Security forces stormed the building where Kiraz was held which led to the death of his two captors. Kiraz also was hit by gunfire during the rescue attempt, and did not survive.  Both Google, which owns YouTube, and Twitter said that they were working on restoring service to its users.


source: Reuters