Twitter Down in Turkey; Gag on Publication of Suruc Attack Pictures, Videos

Angry protesters have blamed the government for assisting the Isis.

Turkey has imposed a ban on Twitter and media outlets from sharing pictures and videos of Suruc bomb attack, following a gag order issued by a local court. Soon after this, social media users complained that Twitter has largely remained inaccessible in the country. It is still not clear if the government has imposed a blanket or a partial ban on Twitter.

Twitter reportedly was blocked at 0800 GMT. A Turkish government official told Today's Zaman that Twitter has been asked to removed 107 URLs containing images and videos related to the Suruc bombing. Till now Twitter has removed 50 links and once it removed all the URLs, its services will be restored, the official added.

A government official said Turkey had asked Twitter to remove 107 URLs with images of the aftermath of the bombing. Twitter had removed some 50 of the URLs and was working to remove the remaining problematic URLs.

In his order, the Suruc Magistrate of Peace, stated that ban was related to "the publication of visual material related to the terror attack" by newspapers and television, state-run Anadolu Agency reported. The court order also blocked Internet access to the images.

As many as 32 student activists were killed and about 100 people were injured in the deadly suicide attack conducted by Isis near the Turkish border town of Suruc on 20 July. The student volunteers from Federation of Socialist Youth Associations (SGDF) were part of a group that was planning to cross into Kobani, located seven kilometres from Suruc, to help the civilians rebuild homes and schools.

The incident had sparked angry reaction from thousands, following which activists from Federation of Socialist Youth Associations (SGDF), took to the street accusing the Turkish government of having aided the Isis militants.

[View Moment of attack Video]

Twitter Reactions