Facebook has banned the verified account of the pro-Kurdish rights Mezopotamya news agency (MA), which had 100,000 followers, the Bianet news web site reported on Tuesday.
According to MA officials, Facebook has been censoring the news published by the agency based on even minor complaints and did not take into consideration their objections.
MA has been the target of Turkish authorities for its coverage of human rights violations in the country, especially against Kurds. Many of its reporters were arrested in the past for alleged membership in the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), an armed secessionist group designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.
In a statement last year, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) had asked to Turkish authorities to “cease detaining journalists at the Mesopotamia News Agency, and let them work freely and safely.”
Turkey was ranked 153rd among 180 countries in the 2021 World Press Freedom Index released by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) in April.
