VIENNA, 16 January 2020 – The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Harlem Désir, welcomed yesterday’s decision by a court in Turkey to lift the ban on Wikipedia.
Earlier, on 26 December, the country’s Constitutional Court had already ruled that the Turkish authorities’ blocking of Wikipedia constituted a violation of the freedom of expression. This ruling was published yesterday in the Official Gazette. The Ankara 1st Penal Court of Peace, acting on this decision, yesterday lifted the ban making Wikipedia accessible again in Turkey.
“I welcome the lifting of the ban on Wikipedia in Turkey by the Ankara 1st Penal Court of Peace yesterday, more than two-and-half-years after the authorities decided to block this website. This is a victory for access to information and freedom of expression in Turkey, for all citizens of Turkey, who were deprived from access to the worldwide encyclopaedia and for all those who pleaded for restoring access over the past two years,” Désir said. The OSCE Media Representative raised this issue several times with the authorities, including during his official visit to Turkey in June 2019.
“Access to information and pluralistic sources online is of paramount importance and needs to be guaranteed by the Turkish authorities. More needs to be done and I hope other steps will follow as, despite this positive news, there are still many websites blocked in the country,” the Representative added. “Blocking websites is an extreme measure that hinders the right of access to information, the public’s right to know and the free flow of information, which are essential to a modern and democratic society,” concluded Désir.
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The OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media observes media developments in all 57 OSCE participating States. He provides early warning on violations of freedom of expression and media freedom and promotes full compliance with OSCE media freedom commitments. Learn more at www.osce.org/fom, Twitter: @OSCE_RFoM and on www.facebook.com/osce.rfom.
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