The Turkish Interior Ministry on Monday announced that between June 9 and 16, 459 social media accounts had been investigated, with 266 of their users subjected to legal action on a number of accusations.
According to the ministry, the allegations include disseminating terrorist propaganda, explicitly revealing membership in a terrorist group, insulting state officials, hate speech, provoking public hostility and intending to destroy the integrity and security of the state.
The ministry announced in February that police had detained 845 social media users over their criticism of a Turkish military offensive in Afrin, northern Syria.
The İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office has started to issue detention warrants in a massive investigation into social media accounts run by activists posting on subjects deemed controversial, the Gazete Duvar news website reported on Friday.
Contentious topics include the Turkish military offensive in Afrin, protests over the planned destruction of Gezi Park in 2013 and workers demonstrations.
The Turkish National Police’s cybercrime department is monitoring some 45 million social media users in the country for possible criminal activity committed through the Internet, the Hürriyet Daily News reported in June.