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The Chief Prosecutor’s Office in Istanbul announced that a court approved a request to block access to the official X account of former Mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu, who was arrested in March on corruption charges.
Imamoğlu’s account was in use after the mayor was imprisoned, often relaying his messages from prison. The office said the decision to block the account was related to the charge of “inciting people to commit crimes” and content amounting to propaganda of a criminal organization.
The account has openly called on the public to take to the streets to protest the arrest of Imamoğlu.
Officials said a tweet in particular, posted on April 24, led to the court’s decision. The said tweet contains a lengthy statement by Imamoğlu who likened the current state of Türkiye to the circumstances of the War of Independence after World War II and urges the nation “not to tolerate” it.
“The nation will be sovereign again,” the post said, distorting an original saying of the Republic of Türkiye’s founder, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, and implying an uprising against the democratically elected government.
Riots have broken out across Türkiye as Imamoğlu’s Republican People’s Party (CHP) called upon supporters to take to the streets, defying riot police. Rioters have attacked police during daily incidents, which recently dwindled in scope, although the CHP continues to hold rallies in support of the former mayor.
