ISTANBUL - An objection was made to the access ban imposed on our agency's domain name upon the complaint of the Gümüşhane Provincial Gendarmerie Command. The application emphasized that the decision is "a violation of freedom of press and expression."

 

The domain name "mezopotamyaajansi.net" of the Mezopotamya Agency (MA) was blocked by the decision of the Gümüşhane Criminal Court of Peace. The court cited the complaint of the Gümüşhane Provincial Gendarmerie Command dated July 24 as the reason for the access ban. The gendarmerie claimed that MA was engaged in "organizational propaganda" and requested that "its blocking is important in terms of protecting national security and public order."

 

OBJECTION TO THE DECISION

 

The Gümüşhane Criminal Court of Peace also accepted the decision of the gendarmerie. An objection was made against the decision, which is contrary to the decisions of the Constitutional Court (AYM). MA's lawyers stated that the decision is against the Constitution, the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the Constitutional Court, and noted that "The decision of the Criminal Court of Peace is based on unlawful, general, abstract, legal and unfounded grounds. However, the defense, information and opinion of the applicant, who is a party to the application, were not obtained before the decision in question was made, and the decision was not even notified after the request of the defense counsel."

 

'FREEDOM OF THE PRESS AND EXPRESSION IS BEING VIOLATED'

 

The following statements were included in the appeal petition requesting the removal of the access ban: “The site in question operates in the field of journalism and publishing, and the news and articles published are watched and shared by a large number of followers and readers in the national and international arena. In this context, due to the decision to 'block access to the site', which is considered 'censorship', the applicant, who is a content provider and a journalist, and the journalists, writers, editors and the freedom of the press, the rights and freedoms of the followers-readers, the national and international public, the press and broadcasting organizations to obtain, share, transmit, disseminate news and information, and to express their thoughts have been obstructed, and the ‘freedom of expression’ guaranteed by Article 10 of the ECHR and Article 26 of the Constitution, and the ‘freedom of the press’ protected by Article 28 have been clearly violated.”