Amnesty International Slams Turkey’s Prosecution of Twitter Users

Local Editor

The non-governmental organization, Amnesty International [AI], on Tuesday condemned Turkey for putting on trial 29 Twitter users in Izmir, Turkey, over their alleged role in the 2013 Gezi protests.

While Turkey hosts the 9th Annual Internet Governance Forum [IGF], AI’s deputy director of global issues, Sherif Elsayed-Ali, said that, "It’s astounding to see Turkish authorities plough on with the prosecution of Twitter critics, even as they host a discussion on Internet governance where human rights are a key theme."

Turkey first banned Twitter back in late March, but in April the country’s constitutional court ruled that the ban was unconstitutional.

Moreover, the Gezi protests were a series of demonstrations in Turkey in 2013-2014, initially aimed to contest the urban development plan for Istanbul’s Taksim Gezi Park.
Subsequently, more demonstrations and strikes took place across Turkey protesting a wide range of concerns, at the core of which were freedom of the press, of expression, and assembly.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team