Turkey Twitter Accounts Shut After Court Rulings

Two Twitter accounts responsible for leaking recordings thought to implicate Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in a corruption scandal have been blocked, according to reports.

On Friday, Turkey’s Constitutional Court agreed to impose certain bans on the related accounts, after Erdogan complained his privacy had been breached.

Then on Saturday, it appeared the Haramzadeler and Bascalan accounts had been blocked, according to Reuters.

Twitter ban

Erdogan has continued to claim the recordings, which also included apparent footage of his family, were a fabrication, but has still called for Twitter to be banned entirely.

The micro-blogging site was blocked until earlier this month, when a court decision overturned the ban. YouTube is still partially blocked.

A number of tweets from the Twitter policy feed appeared to relate to the Turkish situation, without naming the accounts. It said it “has not provided and will not provide user information to Turkish authorities without valid legal process”.

“Reminder: Our Country Withheld Content Policy means we act after due process, e.g., a court order,” one tweet read.

“We don’t withhold content at the mere request of a gov’t official and we may appeal a court order when it threatens freedom of expression,” another read.

Google raised concerns in March over actions by the Turkish government. Turkish internet providers set up fake Google Domain Name System (DNS) services, allowing them to control certain requests made by web users in the country.

Human rights advocates have become increasingly worried about censorship in the country.

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