Turkish authorities on Thursday blocked access to the account of İstanbul’s jailed opposition mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu on social media platform X, where he has nearly 10 million followers.
The detention and subsequent arrest of İmamoğlu — seen as the biggest rival to longtime leader President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan – in March sparked mass street protests in his support.
The arrest, on corruption charges that İmamoğlu denies, could stop him taking part in presidential elections scheduled for 2028.
It was not possible to view his X account on Thursday morning. A message read: “Account Withheld — @ekrem_İmamoğlu has been withheld in TR (Turkey) in response to a legal demand.”
A spokesperson for the Istanbul municipality confirmed access to the account was blocked, without giving further details.
In a bulletin published by its “Disinformation Combat Center,” the presidency said İmamoğlu’s account was blocked after an investigation launched by İstanbul prosecutors into a post made on his account on April 24.
That post was found as a reason to block the account on suspicion of “public incitement to commit a crime,” according to the presidency.
Prosecutors said İmamoğlu did not personally make the posts from his X account that “caused harm to public order” and asked that access be blocked “until his pre-trial detention is lifted.”
The April post harshly criticized the arrest of opponents including lawyers and asked the nation “not to remain silent and to speak up.”
Turkey was gripped by widespread protests in March over the arrest and jailing of the 53-year-old, with police arresting nearly 2,000 people, including journalists.
Watchdog group EngelliWeb, which reports Internet censorship in Turkey, said on X that İmamoğlu’s account had been blocked on national security grounds.
The account “has been blocked under Article 8/A of Law No. 5651, on the grounds of protecting national security and public order and has been made invisible in Turkey by X”, it said.
Yaman Akdeniz, a law professor and head of Turkey’s Freedom of Expression Association (IFOD), called it an “arbitrary order.”
“Unfortunately, I am not surprised, as hundreds of accounts have been subject to such orders since İmamoğlu’s arrest,” he told Agence France-Presse.
“X has officially become the long arm of the Turkish law enforcement agencies,” he said.
Mass rally
Lawyer Gönenç Gürkaynak said he objected to the court order “upon X’s request and in my capacity as X’s independent attorney” in Turkey.
“This morning… I have submitted a 765-page objection dossier” to an İstanbul court, he said on X.
In a show of solidarity with İmamoğlu, some X users replaced their profile pictures with his.
On his last message on X, İmamoğlu, who is jailed in Silivri prison on the outskirts of İstanbul, had urged his supporters to join a protest rally held Wednesday, which was called by his main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP).
Tens of thousands of people took part in the İstanbul rally, one of the biggest in recent weeks.
In the days after İmamoğlu’s arrest, tens of thousands of people took part in near-daily protests. But numbers had dwindled in recent weeks.
Wednesday’s protest was held outside İstanbul University, which had stripped İmamoğlu of his degree the day before his detention on March 19.
© Agence France-Presse