President Abdullah Gul has challenged a ban on Twitter in Turkey after Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed to “wipe out” the micro-blogging service.
Twitter users across the country reported that the site had been blocked on Thursday.
But like many others, President Gul evaded the ban to tweet that the “shutdown was unacceptable.”
Mr Erdogan is angry that people used Twitter to spread allegations of corruption in his inner circle.
“I don’t care what the international community says at all. Everyone will see the power of the Turkish Republic,” Mr Erdogan said in a speech on Thursday.
‘Not technically possible’
President Gul took to the site on Friday to say that websites should only be blocked if courts found they had violated personal privacy.
He said it was not “technically possible to totally block access to platforms used all over the world” and added that he hoped the decision would “not last long.”
Like Mr Erdogan, Mr Gul is a member of the Islamist-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP).
In Turkey, the government holds most power but the president can veto laws, appoint officials, and name judges.
The European Union said it was worried about the move to block Twitter, with Stefan Fuele, the EU commissioner for enlargement, saying he was “gravely concerned” by Prime Minister Erdogan’s policy on free speech.
European Commission Vice President Neelie Kroes described the blocking of the site as “groundless, pointless, cowardly.”
Turkey’s lawyers’ association asked a court to overturn the ban, arguing it was unconstitutional and violated Turkish and European human rights laws. Turkey’s main opposition party also said it would try to have the decision reversed.
BBC
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