A Turkish court has ordered a full access ban on journalist Fatih Altaylı’s YouTube channel, citing “national security” and “public order” concerns.
The Istanbul 6th Criminal Court of Peace issued the ruling on Aug. 7 following a request from the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office. The move was triggered by a video in which Altaylı claimed that MHP Chair Devlet Bahçeli once sent a poem by Cahit Sıtkı Tarancı to jailed PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan.
The court cited Turkey’s Internet Law, which permits urgent content removal in cases deemed a threat to national security or public safety. All videos on Altaylı’s channel were ordered to be removed.
Altaylı has been in pretrial detention since June 22 on charges of “threatening the president.”
Law professor Yaman Akdeniz said on social media that it’s unclear whether the request came from the media watchdog RTÜK or if YouTube will comply. “What’s clear is that this is a legal intervention against the channel,” he said.
