Turkey's Constitutional Court orders Twitter access to be unblocked

Looks like access to Twitter within Turkish borders may soon be restored after the country’s prime minister ordered its block on March 20, 2014.

Turkey’s Constitutional Court unanimously ruled that blocking Twitter is a violation of individuals’ freedom of speech, as guaranteed by Article 26 of the Constitution, according to a Daily Hürriyet report.

“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 court’s decision was immediately announced to the Telecommunications Directorate (TIB) and Turkey’s Transport, Maritime, and Communication Ministry, demanding the agencies follow the order.

“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,” Turkey’s Bar Associations (TBB) president Metin Feyzioğlu said to the Daily Hürriyet.

The ruling came after Turkish Twitter users filed a complaint following the ban. The court ordered their legal fees also be paid.

This ruling is also coming only a few days after a Turkish court overruled the takedown order aimed at the account accusing former Transport Minister Binali Yildirim of corruption, as VentureBeat reported.

The Twitter ban in Turkey was announced on March 20, 2014 by prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, adding, “He did not care about the international response” during a rally regarding the ban.