Turkey briefly blocks Twitter to prevent images of bombing

 By 
Stan Schroeder
 on 
Original image replaced with Mashable logo
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Turkey has allowed access to Twitter again after shortly blocking it on Wednesday to prevent the broadcast of images from Monday's bombing that killed 32 people.

The ban was lifted after Twitter complied with a local court ruling, deleting tweets with images of the bombing's aftermath.

Officials had raised concerns that the bombing in the town of Suruc is part of a campaign of retaliation by the Islamic State group for a recent crackdown on its operations in the country.

Turkish officials say they have detained more than 500 people suspected of working with IS in the last six months. Officials say an operation this month netted 21 terrorism suspects in an investigation of recruitment networks in multiple parts of the country.

Protests have erupted in Istanbul and other cities since the bombings, with demonstrators shouting slogans blaming the government for the attack. On Tuesday, police detained some 30 people before they could march to a local ruling party office in Istanbul. Protesters also threw fireworks as police officers attempted to disperse the crowd at another protest in the city.

The short-lived blocking of Twitter spawned hashtag #TwitterBlockinTurkey on Wednesday as thousands tweeted it in protest of the ban.

#TwitterBlockinTurkey trending with 43.9k tweets & counting, since #Twitter and other media sites are blocked by court order #Suruc #Turkey— Yesim Comert (@yesimcf) July 22, 2015

Turkey has periodically blocked social media in the past. Earlier this year, the government ordered a temporary block on Twitter and YouTube during a hostage crisis in an Istanbul courthouse. Those sites were also blocked last year after audio recordings of a secret security meeting or tapes suggesting corruption by government officials were leaked. In March 2014, Turkish Prime Minister Erdoğan pledged to "eradicate" Twitter.

Turkey's highest court, however, overturned those bans, deeming them to be unconstitutional.

Previous moves by Turkish authorities to block the social media networks have provoked widespread criticism by Western governments and human rights organizations.

Additional reporting by The Associated Press

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