Access to Kurdish rights-focused Yeni Yaşam newspaper's website blocked for fourth time

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Yeni Yaşam, a prominent newspaper focusing on Kurdish rights, faced another instance of access restriction as its website was blocked once again. This marks the fourth time that the publication's website has been rendered inaccessible.

In response to the imposed restriction on the address "yeniyasamgazetesi4.com," the newspaper has announced that it will continue its online presence through the new address "yeniyasamgazetesi5.com."

Yeni Yaşam was established as the successor to Özgür Gündem, which had been shut down for the second time under a statutory decree citing "propaganda for a terrorist organization," during the state of emergency period that followed the attempted coup in 2016.

As access restrictions remain prevalent in Turkey, media organizations often resort to changing website addresses in order to navigate these barriers.

Mezopotamya Agency (MA), another media outlet with a Kurdish focus, is currently operating through the address "mezopotamyaajansi35.com," which inicates that it had been banned for 34 times before.

Among the Kurdish media organizations experiencing similar access restrictions are Yeni Özgür Politika, a Germany-based newspaper, and JINNEWS, a news agency centered on women and LGBTI+ issues.

Kurdish media outlets and journalists working within them have not only faced online bans but have also been subjected to numerous criminal cases and accusations related to "terrorism."

In a recent example, 15 journalists, including employees of Mezopotamya Ajansı and JINNEWS, were released after over a year in detention following their first trial on July 12.

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(TY/VK)