Turkish authorities have blocked access to the X accounts of journalist Fırat Fıstık, social media commentator Nasuh Bektaş and the Kurdish-focused Mezopotamya news agency (MA), citing national security and public order, according to a group that monitors internet censorship in Turkey.
The Freedom of Expression Association’s (IFÖD) EngelliWeb project said online that the restrictions were imposed under Article 8/A of Turkey’s Law No. 5651, which regulates online content. Neither its announcement nor other publicly available reports identified the posts or other material that prompted the restrictions.
The T24 news website subsequently reported that all three accounts had been made invisible in Turkey by X.
The action marks the latest restriction targeting Mezopotamya news agency, whose websites and social media accounts have repeatedly been blocked in Turkey. EngelliWeb said 52 different domain names used by the agency were blocked between 2015 and 2025 as it repeatedly moved its website to new addresses after earlier domains were restricted.
Fıstık is a reporter and broadcaster for independent news outlet Medyascope and has worked as a journalist since 2013. Bektaş, who regularly posts commentary and reports on cultural events, has said he does not work professionally in journalism or maintain a professional affiliation with the press.
Article 8/A allows Turkish authorities to order online material removed or blocked on grounds including national security and the protection of public order. Criminal magistrates of peace can issue such orders, while in urgent cases Turkey’s telecommunications regulator can impose restrictions following requests from designated government authorities, subject to subsequent judicial review.
Publicly available reports on the latest restrictions did not specify which of those procedures was used or identify the court, government body or regulatory decision behind the action.
MA, which covers Kurdish politics, rights issues and developments in predominantly Kurdish southeastern Turkey, has faced several similar restrictions this year. The agency said in February that its Turkish, Kurdish and English-language X accounts had been blocked four times in the preceding month by Turkey’s Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK).
The repeated restrictions extend beyond MA. EngelliWeb’s 2025 annual report documented the blocking of entire websites and social media accounts belonging to news organizations and journalists under Article 8/A on national security and public-order grounds. The report said the practice included wholesale restrictions on the social media accounts of several independent news outlets.
Turkey’s Constitutional Court has previously found problems with the use of Article 8/A. In a case involving the Artı Gerçek news outlet, the court ruled that an access-blocking order violated freedom of expression and freedom of the press and raised concerns about safeguards available to publishers affected by the procedure.
