The Report on the closure of access to internet sites in Turkey was submitted to ECHR
Strasbourg-based Council of Europe, of which Turkey is a member, the Human Rights Commissioner Dunja Mijatovic presented a report about related websites blocked in Turkey, including Wikipedia, along with the observations of the European Court of Human Rights’ 9-page report. The report is closely related to Wikipedia and other websites, which include non-profit and various free content projects that are blocked from access.
The manner in which Turkish administrative authorities and courts routinely resort to Internet blocking is unacceptable in a democratic society and does not comply with Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which protects freedom of expression. “Turkish legislation should be reviewed in a comprehensive manner” stated she.
“On the one hand, the Internet has been arbitrarily blocked by the government, and on the other hand, many court cases have been unsuccessful, with court delays for considerably long times” said Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatovic. Mijatovic stressed that prolongation of the court process violated Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights on freedom of expression. Access to Wikipedia, which provides information across Europe, has been denied for two and a half years, and Mijatovic wrote that the rights of thousands of Turkish citizens have been violated, she recalled.
Source: euronews.com
