A block on access to Twitter remained in place Thursday despite a Constitutional Court ruling a day earlier that found the ban violates the right to free expression and demanding that access be restored.
The popular micro-blogging site has been blocked in Turkey since March 21.
The Constitutional Court on Wednesday ordered authorities to unblock Twitter, saying the decision violated the rights of users who had appealed the decision.
The court unanimously ruled that the ban is a violation of free speech guaranteed by Article 26 of the constitution. “Everyone has the right to express and disseminate his thoughts and opinion by speech, in writing or in pictures or through other media, individually or collectively,” the article states.
The decision was immediately delivered to the Telecommunications Directorate (TİB) and Turkey’s transport, maritime and communication ministry with the demand that they follow the order. The court also ruled that legal fees be paid to the applicants.
According to Metin Feyzioğlu, the president of Turkey’s bar associations, the block must be removed immediately. “If they don’t abide by the ruling, we will file a criminal complaint against the TİB by attaching the ruling of the Constitutional Court,” he told Hürriyet.
