Access Block on Independent Turkish

* Photo: Independent Turkish

Click to read the article in Turkish

An access block has been imposed on Independent Türkçe, the Turkish version of the UK-based The Independent newspaper, by the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK).

When people enter the website, they see the following message in Turkish and English: "The protection measure has been taken for this website (independentturkish.com) according to decision nr. 2020/3042 D.İş dated 19/04/2020 of "Ankara 7. Sulh Ceza Hakimliği" has been implemented by the Information and Communication Technologies Authority."

Çiçek: It is an issue between the states

Nevzat Çiçek, the Editor-in-Chief of the news website, has announced that they continue publishing news on http://indyturky.com. Indicating that the website cannot be accessed as per the decision of the BTK, Çiçek has said:

"With a decision dated April 19, the BTK has imposed an access block on some websites from Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates. It is said that the decision in question has been taken to reciprocate the Saudi Arabia's access block on especially [state-run] Anadolu Agency and [state channel] TRT. The Turkey branch of the UK-based The Independent has been at the center of such a decision due to partnership.

"There is no problem arising from our line of publication, they are found highly objective. While 70 percent of The Independent's main body belongs to the Russian businessman and 30 percent to the Saudi businessman, the editorial independence entirely lies with foundation principles.

"We have not yet received an official notice or court verdict. It is an issue between the states, not ours.

"All in all, there is no decision as to the violation of our editorial independence or objective news principles. There is no closure, but an administrative decision of the BTK. The site can be accessed from some places while it cannot be accessed from others. This is the case for now."

indyturky.com cannot be accesed either

When people enter the alternative website mentioned by Çiçek, namely indyturkey.com, they also encounter the following message:

"After technical analysis and legal consideration based on the law nr. 5651, administrative measure has been taken for this website (indyturky.com) according to decision nr. 490.05.01.2020.-1641622 dated 19/04/2020 of the Information and Communication Technologies Authority."

(HA/SD)