Lawyers of Yeni Hayat, one of the few remaining independent dailies in Turkey, are to file a complaint against Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım and others for censorship over a report on the terrorist Islamic State and the Levant (ISIS).
The complaint will reportedly be filed against Prime Ministry Security Affairs Centre Manager Bilal Durdalı, Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK) Chairman Ömer Fatih Sayan, Telecommunications Directorate (TİB) head Ahmet Cemaleddin Çelik, TİB Internet Department Chief Ahmet Kılıç, Gölbaşı Penal Court of Peace as well as PM Yıldırım.
Access to the website of the Yeni Hayat daily (yenihayatgazetesi.com) was blocked due to its lead story around 8.30 p.m. on June 30, without any notification or justification. The story claimed there are currently 150 potential suicide bombers linked to the terrorist ISIS in Turkey.
Authorities of the daily objected to the court’s decision. The court in turn provided them with screenshots of dozens of news reports they published. Although they removed the reports in question from the website, TİB — whose employees and managers work 24 hours a day — have yet to lift the block that is ongoing for more than 11 days.