Turkish authorities on Friday blocked access to the X accounts of several pro-Kurdish news outlets, journalists and civil society organizations, the Mezopotamya News Agency (MA) reported.
The blocked accounts include those of pro-Kurdish news agencies Ajansa Welat, Med Gündem and Jin News as well as journalists Mahmut Bozarslan and Renas Vinar and civil society groups such as the Free Women’s Movement (TJA).
Authorities have not yet issued an official explanation for the bans, which came shortly after Nevruz celebrations over the past week, when police carried out mass detentions on accusations of spreading terrorist propaganda.
Ajansa Welat said it would continue broadcasting on X through a new account, while TJA shared its updated X account with its followers after the ban.
Press and civil society groups condemned the bans, with journalists union HABER-SEN calling them an unacceptable criminalization of journalism.
The Dicle Fırat Journalists Association described the decision as part of a “deliberate and systematic censorship policy,” targeting the public’s right to access information.
Turkey’s increasing use of digital censorship has been cited by press freedom monitors as a key factor in the country’s low ranking in global media freedom indices.
The US-based democracy watchdog Freedom House’s “2025 Freedom on the Net” report placed Turkey among the five countries with the steepest long-term declines in internet freedom. The organization cited broad censorship practices and intensified digital controls over the past 15 years, giving Turkey a score of 31 out of 100, putting it in the bottom tier of the 72 countries assessed.
The country was ranked 159th out of 180 countries in the 2025 World Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
