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Human Rights Watch (HRW) joined eighteen other human rights on Monday in condemning the Turkish government for escalating internet censorship, stating that the measures were a violation of the right to freedom of expression.
In September 2026, İFÖD, Türkiye’s Freedom of Expression Association, reported that 1,270 accounts on X were geo-blocked in Türkiye. X complied with the geo-blocking procedures for 90 percent of the accounts, including the İFÖD account. EngelliWeb’s X account, that documents internet censorship for Turkish citizens, was also blocked. The regulation of content in digital spaces in the country is conducted via Law No. 5651, with HRW noting that Article 8/A of the legislation has been weaponized in recent years to issue immediate orders to block or delete online content.
Turkish authorities launched the “My Family is Safe” investigation in September 2026. The authorities are examining businesses facilitating prostitution, people distributing obscene materials and activities exposing children to obscene material. During the investigation, 162 suspects, nine associations and 13 businesses were implicated in judicial proceedings.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has previously criticized the Turkish government’s targeting of journalists Can Dündar, Metin Cihan, Amberin Zaman, Erk Acarer, and Hayko Bagdat. They had faced pressure for their investigative reporting on trucks transporting ammunition to jihadist groups in Syria under the supervision of Turkish intelligence services, as well as for articles critical of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s rule.
Freedom House has echoed similar sentiments on the growing wave of internet censorship within the country, stating that the ambiguously worded disinformation law, which took effect in 2022 created a legal pathway for prosecuting individuals over their social media activity, carrying a maximum penalty of three years behind bars. The Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA) has filed an application with the Constitutional Court on behalf of journalist Tuğba Tekerek who was arrested as part of the “My Family is Safe” operation over allegedly administering the Instagram account belonging to Kaos GL, an LGBTQ+ rights organization in the country.
MLSA stated that both she and her lawyer was not provided with any digital evidence supporting the charges against her, resulting in her case being presented without the full facts. In early 2024, the Constitutional Court had delivered a landmark verdict ruling that travel bans on journalists was a violation of the right to freedom of expression.
The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in August 2026 ruled that the imprisonment of Mehmet Osman Kavala, a human rights defender, was unlawful and violated his freedom of speech rights.
The post HRW condemns Türkiye’s abuse of legal framework to expand internet censorship appeared first on JURIST - News.
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In September 2026, İFÖD, Türkiye’s Freedom of Expression Association, reported that 1,270 accounts on X were geo-blocked in Türkiye. X complied with the geo-blocking procedures for 90 percent of the accounts, including the İFÖD account. EngelliWeb’s X account, that documents internet censorship for Turkish citizens, was also blocked. The regulation of content in digital spaces in the country is conducted via Law No. 5651, with HRW noting that Article 8/A of the legislation has been weaponized in recent years to issue immediate orders to block or delete online content.
Turkish authorities launched the “My Family is Safe” investigation in September 2026. The authorities are examining businesses facilitating prostitution, people distributing obscene materials and activities exposing children to obscene material. During the investigation, 162 suspects, nine associations and 13 businesses were implicated in judicial proceedings.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has previously criticized the Turkish government’s targeting of journalists Can Dündar, Metin Cihan, Amberin Zaman, Erk Acarer, and Hayko Bagdat. They had faced pressure for their investigative reporting on trucks transporting ammunition to jihadist groups in Syria under the supervision of Turkish intelligence services, as well as for articles critical of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s rule.
Freedom House has echoed similar sentiments on the growing wave of internet censorship within the country, stating that the ambiguously worded disinformation law, which took effect in 2022 created a legal pathway for prosecuting individuals over their social media activity, carrying a maximum penalty of three years behind bars. The Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA) has filed an application with the Constitutional Court on behalf of journalist Tuğba Tekerek who was arrested as part of the “My Family is Safe” operation over allegedly administering the Instagram account belonging to Kaos GL, an LGBTQ+ rights organization in the country.
MLSA stated that both she and her lawyer was not provided with any digital evidence supporting the charges against her, resulting in her case being presented without the full facts. In early 2024, the Constitutional Court had delivered a landmark verdict ruling that travel bans on journalists was a violation of the right to freedom of expression.
The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in August 2026 ruled that the imprisonment of Mehmet Osman Kavala, a human rights defender, was unlawful and violated his freedom of speech rights.
The post HRW condemns Türkiye’s abuse of legal framework to expand internet censorship appeared first on JURIST - News.
Continue reading...
Note: We don't have any responsibilities about this news. Its been posted here by Feed Reader and we had no controls and checking on it. And because News posted here will be deleted automatically after 21 days, threads are closed so that no one spend time to post and discuss here. You can always check the source and discuss in their site.