Turkey Is Now Arresting People For Using Twitter to Spread "Untrue Information"
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Posted Wednesday, June 5, 2013
A Turkish art group preforms in support of protestors at Taksim Square onJune 5, 2013 in Istanbul, Turkey
Photo by Uriel Sinai/Getty Images
As my colleague Will Oremus wrote about earlier this week, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has made no secret of how he feels about the use of Twitter. "Now we have a menace that is called Twitter," Erdoğan said on Monday, day four of the mass protests that are now in their sixth day. "The best example of lies can be found there. To me, social media is the worst menace to society."
At the time of those remarks, the Turkish government appeared to have no immediate plans to combat this menace/curse/scourge—despite scattered reports of Internet outages, the tweets continued to roll in, along with the Facebook posts, Instagram pics, and Vine videos. That may have changed Wednesday, via the Associated Press:
Turkey's state-run news agency says police have detained 25 people for "spreading untrue information" on social media and provoking protests. The Anadolu Agency says Wednesday the people were detained in the city of Izmir for allegedly "inciting the people to enmity and hate." It said police were still looking for 13 others.
No one seems to have any idea exactly which tweets in question landed the offending users in jail—something that only highlights the fact that Turkey's main media outlets have been noticeably slow to give the protests the coverage they deserve (which, in turn, has left many Turks relying on the social media site for their updates). Regardless, the arrest of a couple dozen Twitter users is unlikely to deter the thousands of others using the social media site to voice their displeausre with Erdoğan any more than the several thousands of arrests on the streets is going to deter the mass demonstrations that are now occuring across Turkey.
source: http://www.slate.com
Dozens arrested in Turkey over protest tweets, accused of 'inciting hatred'
Published time: June 05, 2013
Turkish police have detained at least 25 Twitter users for allegedly spreading false reports, as anti-government demonstrations in Turkey continue for a sixth day.
Social media activists have been accused of using Twitter to “instigate public hatred and animosity,” according to Turkish media. Police raided 38 addresses to locate the suspects.
A protestor uses a mobile phone to give latestt news about the clashes near Taksim in Istanbul on June 3, 2013. (AFP Photo / Ozan Kose)
The activists were arrested early Wednesday in the western city of Izmir. Police said that their tweets contained “misleading and libelous information,” state-run news agency Anatolia reported. However, Ali Engin, an official from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), said that they were detained for urging people to protest.
Police tracked down the activists through their IP addresses, and were reportedly able to locate most of them. CHP said that they have sent lawyers to assist the arrested individuals.
The lawyers revealed to the media that police files on the individuals included tweets about where to meet, about police actions, and about the names of volunteer doctors and lawyers.
Earlier on Tuesday, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc apologized for the treatment of protesters during riots that grew out of a demonstration last Friday against the planned demolition of Taksim Gezi Park to build a mall. The police use of teargas and pepper spray to disperse protesters has been heavily criticized.
Turkish riot police officer fires tear gas during clashes with protestors between Taksim and Besiktas in Istanbul on June 3, 2013 during a demonstration against the demolition of the park. (AFP Photo / Bulent Kilic)
Arinc said that the police’s actions were wrong, and that security forces have been ordered not to use teargas except in cases of self-defense. "The excessive violence that was used in the first instance against those who were behaving with respect for the environment is wrong and unfair. I apologize to those citizens," Arinc said at a news conference on Tuesday.
After unrest began last Friday, tens of thousands of anti-government protesters held demonstrations in Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Mugla, Antalya, and many other cities and towns across Turkey. At least two people were killed and thousands were injured in the nationwide protests.
Turkey protests continue despite apology |
Protesters meet with deputy PM to demand cancellation of Gezi park demolition and release of dozens arrested in Izmir.
Last Modified: 05 Jun 2013 12:19
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Protests have continued in Turkey as demonstrators defied a government appeal to end deadly unrest in which two people have died.
On Tuesday, Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arnic apologised for "excessive violence" against protesters trying to save a park in Istanbul, a campaign which acted as catatlyst for deeper tensions within the country.
A meeting between the deputy prime minister and some of the protesters took place on Wednesday in Ankara.
Police used tear gas and water cannon overnight and into Wednesday morning on hundreds of protesters, who ignored warnings to disperse in Istanbul, Ankara and the southeastern city of Hatay.
In Istanbul, thousands gathered peacefully at Taksim Square on Wednesday yelling defiance at Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who had earlier dismissed the protesters as "extremists" and "vandals".
read more at http://www.aljazeera.com
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