08.05.2025 10:00
Access to the X account (formerly known as Twitter) of Ekrem İmamoğlu, the removed Mayor of Istanbul, has been restricted in Turkey. According to a statement from the Disinformation Combat Center, the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office indicated that a post made on İmamoğlu's X account on April 24 could constitute the crime of publicly inciting to commit a crime, and decided to temporarily restrict access to the account.
Ekrem İmamoğlu's X (formerly Twitter) account has been blocked from access in Turkey. The Disinformation Combat Center, affiliated with the Communications Presidency, made a statement regarding the access restriction imposed on İmamoğlu's X account at midnight.
ATTENTION WAS DRAWN TO THE POST ON APRIL 24
Following the access restriction decision, reactions towards X increased, while the Disinformation Combat Center explained why İmamoğlu's account was blocked. In the DMM statement, it was stated, "A criminal investigation has been initiated by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office regarding the post made on April 24, 2025, via the link https://x.com/ekrem_imamoglu?s=21… from the X account of detained Ekrem İmamoğlu, as it may constitute the crime of publicly inciting to commit a crime as regulated in Article 214 of the Turkish Penal Code."
BTK REQUESTED, X IMPLEMENTED
The statement continued with the following expressions:
"Due to the posts made from the X account of the detained suspect Ekrem İmamoğlu, who is under investigation by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, and because he did not make these posts himself and harmed public order; it was requested that the access to the X account be blocked until the end of his detention (as a precaution); a decision to be made in accordance with Article 8/2 of Law No. 5651 on the Regulation of Publications Made on the Internet and the Fight Against Crimes Committed Through These Publications, and to send the decision to both the Information Technologies and Communications Authority (BTK) and the Access Providers Association (ESB)." The request was examined by the Istanbul 8th Criminal Court of Peace; it was deemed that it would not be technically possible to block access to the content related to the violation without a decision to block access to the entire account, and it was necessary to decide to block access to the X account belonging to the suspect Ekrem İmamoğlu in accordance with Articles 1 and 3 of Article 8/A of Law No. 5651.
"THERE IS A 2-WEEK APPEAL PERIOD"
On April 24, 2025, it was decided to block access to İmamoğlu's X account based on the request of the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office dated April 24, 2025, and in accordance with Article 3 of Article 8/A of Law No. 5651, to send a copy of the decision to BTK and ESB for necessary action in accordance with Article 1 of Article 8/A of Law No. 5651, and that the decision should be implemented immediately, within a maximum of 4 hours, and that there would be an open appeal route within two weeks. Following the judicial decision dated April 24, 2025, the X platform imposed an access restriction on Ekrem İmamoğlu's X account.
HERE IS THE POST MADE ON APRIL 24
İmamoğlu's post was as follows:
"My dear nation; Either justice or misery... We have no other options left. I have filed a criminal complaint against those who have caused the greatest disgrace in the history of Turkish justice, and I will continue to do so. There is no description for the price that a handful of scoundrels have made our country pay, the rights they have taken from the people.
We are paying this price together with our retirees, workers, low-income individuals, the unemployed, our students, our children, and our youth. I ask this handful of scoundrels who have caused complete misery to our nation; What are you serving with unlawful trials and operations, arrests, detention processes where many people, including myself, have been kept for days in filthy detention, trustees, etc.?
How do you justify producing false witnesses and testimonies, creating informants and accusers, arresting the innocent or intimidating them with arrest, threatening by saying 'You cannot get out of prison' to the esteemed Turkish judiciary? Now you are also trying to detain lawyers, intimidate them, and prevent people from performing their duties.
Enough already! Who are you, and to whom and what are you serving? From whom did you learn these methods? Don't you feel ashamed of attacking people's honor and dignity? I call out to my nation: This handful of scoundrels is causing great harm to both the nation and the state. File complaints, do not remain silent, and raise your voice."