X (formerly Twitter) blocked Ekrem İmamoğlu’s account in Turkey following a legal demand and court order issued by Turkish authorities. The official reason given was that posts on his account, particularly one from April 24, allegedly incited people to commit crimes and amounted to “propaganda for a criminal organization.” Authorities cited concerns over public order and national security, invoking Article 8/A of Law No. 5651, which allows for blocking content on these grounds268. The post in question reportedly urged the public to protest against his arrest and the broader crackdown on dissent28.
X has publicly stated it disagrees with the order and is challenging it in court15. İmamoğlu, the jailed mayor of Istanbul and a leading opposition figure, has nearly 10 million followers on the platform. His account remains accessible outside Turkey, but users within the country now see a message indicating it has been “withheld in response to a legal demand”36.
The specific content in İmamoğlu’s April 24 post that led to the account block was a lengthy statement in which he compared the current political climate in Turkey to the circumstances of the War of Independence and urged the nation “not to tolerate” the situation. The post also included a call to action, asking supporters to protest his arrest and to file criminal complaints against officials responsible for his detention, whom he accused of fabricating false witnesses and testimonies. Authorities interpreted this as “public incitement to commit a crime” and as content amounting to “propaganda for a criminal organization,” arguing that the post encouraged civil disobedience and could threaten public order and national security245.
In the post, İmamoğlu wrote:
“I ask this handful of opportunists who have brought complete misery upon our nation. How do you justify to the esteemed Turkish judiciary the fabrication of false witnesses and testimonies, creating informants and slanderers, arresting innocents or threatening them with arrest by saying, ‘You’ll never get out of prison’?”4
He also concluded with a message echoing the rhetoric of Atatürk, saying, “The nation will be sovereign again,” which officials interpreted as an implicit call for uprising against the government2. The post was seen as encouraging protests, civil disobedience, and legal actions against state officials, all of which authorities considered grounds for blocking the account.
Discover more from Erkan's Field Diary
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.