ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Turkey has called for the closure of more than 700 accounts on X as the country faces a major opposition movement and ongoing protests at home in the wake of the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, X said in a statement.
"We object to multiple court orders from the Turkish Information and Communication Technologies Authority to block over 700 accounts of news organizations, journalists, political figures, students, and others within Turkiye,” the giant platform’s communications team said.
Imamoglu, the anticipated main rival of Recep Tayyip Erdogan for the upcoming presidential elections, was detained by security forces on Wednesday on multiple charges including bribery, extortion, money laundering, and aiding the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
His arrest sparked large demonstrations across the country in recent days, with clashes breaking out between the protesters and security forces who used tear gas and water cannons to quell the protests.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said over 340 protesters were detained during the demonstrations in Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Adana, Antalya, Canakkale, Eskisehir, Konya, and Edirne on Friday.
Imamoglu’s arrest came just days before he was to be formally named the candidate of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) for the 2028 presidential race.
A day before his arrest, Istanbul University revoked Imamoglu’s university degree, on grounds it was falsely obtained.
"Providing a platform committed to defending everyone's right to free speech is paramount at X, and we believe this decision from the Turkish government is not only unlawful, it hinders millions of Turkish users from news and political discourse in their country,” X said, adding the platform will "always defend freedom of speech everywhere we operate.”
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