Turkey Blocks Instagram Amid ‘Censorship’ Row

Turkey blocked access to Instagram for its 85 million people, the country’s Information and Communication Technologies Authority announced on August 2. “Instagram.com has been blocked by a decision on the date of August 2. According to Turkish media, there are more than 50 million users of the photo-sharing app in the country.

Ban the Instagram

The Turkish government did not disclose a reason for the ban nor how long it would be in place. Reports however suggest the ban was a response to the platform removing posts related to the death of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.

Blame to the Israel for Haniyeh’s death

Haniyeh, the head of the Palestinian militant organization’s political wing, was killed in a blast in Tehran while visiting the country for the inauguration of its new president. Iranian officials and Hamas blame Israel for what they say is an assassination, while Israel has declined to comment.

Freedom of speech

Altun said, “This is censorship, pure and simple.” We will defend freedom of speech against these platforms that have showed many times that they are primarily in the service of global exploitative system of injustice.”

Maintains diplomatic and economic relation

Unlike the U.S. and many of its Western allies, Turkey does not consider Hamas to be a terrorist organization. Turkey’s government has long been a vocal critic of Israel’s military offensive in Gaza and its occupation of the Palestinian territories. Although it maintains diplomatic and economic relations with Israel and Turkish President Erdogan has described Hamas as “liberation fighters.”