DMM announces: That post cited as the reason for the access ban on Ekrem İmamoğlu!

The reason for the access ban imposed on the social media account of the detained Ekrem İmamoğlu has been announced. According to the DMM, the claim was that "the post contained elements of incitement to commit a crime."

The X account of CHP presidential candidate and Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, who was arrested on charges of corruption on March 23 and sent to Silivri Prison, has been blocked.

The censorship applied to İmamoğlu sparked a backlash, with many users and CHP figures changing their profile pictures to Ekrem İmamoğlu.

The Center for Combating Disinformation (DMM), affiliated with the Presidential Communications Directorate, issued a statement regarding the access ban imposed on İmamoğlu's X account.

The DMM reported that the censorship in question was implemented following an evaluation by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office and a court order.

The statement indicated that an ex officio investigation was launched on the grounds that a post made by İmamoğlu on his X account on April 24, 2025, could fall under the scope of "publicly inciting to commit a crime" in accordance with Article 214 of the Turkish Penal Code.

The Istanbul 8th Criminal Court of Peace issued a decision to block the entire account, citing that a content-based access ban was technically impossible. It was reported that the decision was forwarded to the BTK (Information and Communication Technologies Authority) and the Access Providers Association (ESB) within the scope of the Internet Law No. 5651 and was required to be implemented within 4 hours.

The X platform also restricted access to Ekrem İmamoğlu's account in line with this decision.

The DMM's justification was explained as follows:

"An ex officio investigation has been launched by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, evaluating that the post made on April 24, 2025, from the X account of the detained Ekrem İmamoğlu, with the link https://x.com/ekrem_imamoglu?s=21…, could constitute the crime of publicly inciting to commit a crime as regulated in Article 214 of the TPC. Due to the fact that the suspect Ekrem İmamoğlu, who is detained within the scope of another investigation conducted by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, is not the one making the posts from his X account and that they harm public order; it has been requested that a decision be made in accordance with Article 8/A of the Law No. 5651 on the Regulation of Publications Made on the Internet and Combating Crimes Committed Through These Publications, by way of Article 8/2 of the same law, to block access to the X account (as a precautionary measure) until his detention ends, and that the decision be sent to both the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK) and the Access Providers Association (ESB)." The request was examined by the Istanbul 8th Criminal Court of Peace; in the examination, considering that it would not be technically possible to block access to the content related to the violation in question without issuing a decision to block access to the entire account, it was deemed necessary to decide to block access to the X account belonging to the suspect Ekrem İmamoğlu in accordance with paragraphs 1 and 3 of Article 8/A of Law No. 5651. In accordance with the request of the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office dated April 24, 2025, and paragraph 3 of Article 8/A of Law No. 5651, it was decided to block access to İmamoğlu's X account, to send a copy of the decision to the BTK and ESB for implementation in accordance with paragraph 1 of Article 8/A of Law No. 5651, to execute the decision immediately, within 4 hours at the latest, in accordance with paragraph 1 of Article 8/A of Law No. 5651, and that the right to appeal is open within two weeks, as decided on 24.04.2025. Following the judicial decision dated April 24, 2025, the X platform imposed an access ban on Ekrem İmamoğlu's X account."

An ex officio investigation has been launched by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, evaluating that the post made on April 24, 2025, from the X account of the detained Ekrem İmamoğlu, with the link https://t.co/v5G8f6l0DH, could constitute the crime of publicly inciting to commit a crime as regulated in Article 214 of the TPC… pic.twitter.com/79k546UIwD

— Center for Combating Disinformation (@dmmiletisim) May 8, 2025

The posts made by İmamoğlu on the date in question are as follows:

News Source: 12punto