Turkish court orders T24 website and social media accounts blocked
The order is part of an investigation targeting LGBTQ+ groups that has drawn criticism from rights groups and European officials.
Istanbul, Turkey. A court has ordered access to independent news portal T24’s website and social media accounts to be blocked over content deemed “LGBT propaganda”, the Justice Ministry said on Wednesday.
Order issued under wider investigation
Istanbul’s 1st Criminal Court of Peace issued the order after authorities identified 118 pieces of content published by T24 over the past year that they deemed “LGBT propaganda”, the ministry said. The decision was sent to Turkey’s Cyber Security Presidency for implementation.
The order is part of an investigation targeting LGBTQ+ groups called “My Family is Safe”. Dozens of people were jailed earlier this month under the investigation, which the government says is aimed at protecting children and family values.
T24 said it had not yet received official notification of the access ban and would appeal once it did.
Rights groups and EU raise concerns
Turkish authorities have already blocked access to websites and social media accounts belonging to LGBTQ+ associations, activists and independent media outlets as part of the investigation, including the X account of Amnesty International’s Turkey branch.
The crackdown has drawn criticism from rights groups and European officials. The European Union has expressed concern over the arrests and access restrictions and called on Ankara to uphold freedom of expression and media freedom. Human Rights Watch has said the crackdown threatens fundamental rights and the rule of law, and has called on authorities to stop targeting LGBTQ+ groups and activists.
This news item was generated automatically by Cyprus Inform from publicly available materials. Report an error →