Turkish courts have arrested 24 social media users since the beginning of Turkey’s incursion into northeast Syria on Oct. 9 on charges of conducting a “smear campaign” against the military offensive, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported.
A total of 186 users have been detained thus far, the report indicated, adding that 40 of them were released pending trial, while the remaining 124 were still in police custody.
Cyber units under Turkey’s Interior Ministry have been conducting online patrolling to identify social media posts that would be considered criminal activity, the report added.
Turkey launched the military offensive after the US withdrawal from the area east of the Euphrates River, a territory held by Kurdish militia who are considered terrorists by the Turkish government.