Twitter sent an email to Today’s Zaman deputy editor Celil Sağır, saying that his account would be withheld due to a court ruling upon a complaint.
Sağır informed its followers on twitter that his account would be withheld in Turkey.
“In case you haven’t heard; my twitter account will be withheld in Turkey. Let’s say it’s like @fuatavni. Twitter also attached a court ruling. The complaint is about violation of personal rights. Twitter also objected within the freedom of expression,” he said.
Saying that he appealed to 5th Peace Court to avoid such “unlawful attempt”, Sağır continued: “This unlawful attempt has limited the internet freedom”. He also opened an account @CelilSgr as a backup solution.
Twitter also said that they will inform their user if they receive responses from the court.
Sağır’s lawyer Ali Odabaşı, on the other hand, claimed that the ruling violated Law No 5651 on the Internet.
“If it is about a lie, an accusation or an insult, that account can’t be withheld. Those tweets must be removed instead. This is an unlawful situation."
Odabaşı also added that the ruling was a mistake as Sağır’s account was mentioned as @esagir instead of his real account @csagir.
“This drops the banning ruling and it doesn’t concern my client. We will make the necessary objection”. (EÖ/AS/BM)
* Click here to read the article in Turkish.