Wikipedia was back online in Turkey on Wednesday, January 15 for the first time in nearly three years after a Turkish court lifted a government ban on the website, Deutsche Welle reports.

The ban was lifted and access to resumed hours after Turkey's Official Gazette reported details of a ruling made by the country's Constitutional Court.

Last month, a 10-to-six majority ruled in favor of the online encyclopedia, saying that the ban violated freedom of expression.

Internet users in Ankara and Istanbul reported having access a few hours later.

Turkey had blocked the website in April 2017, citing Wikipedia's refusal to remove content that said the Turkish government was supporting terrorist organizations, calling it a "smear campaign"

The community-generated website had said it was opposed to censorship. Wikipedia fought the ban in court, escalating the case to Turkey's highest court in May 2017 after talks with officials and a challenge in a lower court failed to restore access.