Over 100 websites blocked in Turkey since late July

Hacer Boyacıoğlu - ANKARA

More than 100 websites have been denied access for purported links to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) since late July when conflict began once between the army and the PKK throughout the country, leading to numerous deaths on both sides.

Authorities said most of the websites had been banned upon requests of Turkey’s security bodies for ties to the PKK or “for supporting terrorism.”

Security bodies have drawn up an extensive list of websites to censor on the grounds that they are used for communication between terrorist organizations, praise terrorist acts or make terrorism propaganda.

The list of websites are then submitted to the Presidency of Telecommunication and Communication (TİB), which later makes an administrative decision to block the websites.

Restrictions that were previously applied to websites linked to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) have been in place since July 25 for those close to the PKK and the outlawed Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C).  

As many as 96 websites were blocked and 23 accounts on Twitter were deactivated in the last week of July alone in a bid to “preserve national security and public order” and “protect one’s right to life.” 

Among the websites denied access since July 25 were news website sendika.org, daily Özgür Gündem, the Fırat News Agency (ANF), the Dicle News Agency (DİHA) and the Hawar News Agency (ANHA).

Data journalism website dagmedya.net was also recently blocked.