Turkish court suspends Twitter banMarch 26, 2014 - 16:38 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - A Turkish court has issued a temporary injunction ordering the telecommunications authority to restore access to Twitter, five days after the government organization blocked the social network, Al Jazeera reported. The ban came after the popular social media platform was used to post audio recordings implicating the country's prime minister in corruption. The administrative court in Ankara will inform the telecommunications authority, TIB, which is expected to grant access to Twitter in the coming hours, private NTV television said on Wednesday, March 26. In a separate process, Turkey's highest court, the Constitutional Court, is expected to discuss the Twitter ban later in the day in response to multiple applications by citizens and MPs on the issue. The decision by the Constitutional Court is expected to set a precedent for similar cases on blocking websites. TIB had blocked access to the U.S.-based social network last week under orders from Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, after it became a conduit for links to recordings suggesting government corruption.. On Tuesday, the UN had called on Turkey to stop blocking Twitter, saying Ankara could be breaching its international rights obligations by banning the site. "We are concerned that the blocking of access to Twitter on the March 20 by the telecommunications agency may be incompatible with Turkey's international human rights obligations," said Rupert Colville, spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. "The same rights that people have offline must also be protected online. So we would urge the authorities to rescind the blocking of Twitter," Colville said. The U.S. also denounced the ban as an "unacceptable" attack on freedom of expression. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Narek Manasyan wins European Boxing Championships silver for Armenia Armenia’s Narek Manasyan (92kg) won Armenia’s second silver medal at the European Boxing Championships 2024 on April 28. Blinken urges Azerbaijan to continue negotiations with Armenia Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken has urged Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to continue negotiations with Armenia. Pashinyan, Blinken talk Armenia-U.S. ties over the phone Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had a phone conversation with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on April 28, Pashinyan’s office reports. Titus, Bilirakis lead legislation to sanction Azerbaijani war criminals Representatives Dina Titus (D-NV) and Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) have introduced the bipartisan legislation. |