Second ruling of right violation for the access block to sendika.org news website

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After giving its first ruling of right violation for the access blocks to sendika.org news website in March 2020, the Constitutional Court has once again concluded that the block in question is a right violation.

The first access block was imposed on the website by the Telecommunications Communication Presidency (TİB) on July 25, 2015. Since then, a total of 62 access blocks have been imposed on sendika.org and successive websites. In its first ruling, the Constitutional Court concluded that these blocks violated freedom of expression and press.

In its recent ruling about the issue, the Constitutional Court has combined 17 individual applications and once again concluded that the freedom of expression and press of the website has been violated.

While the detailed ruling of the supreme court has not yet been handed down, the Constitutional Court will send a copy of its ruling to the local court so that the access blocks in question can be lifted.

On the other side, the first ruling of right violation given by the Constitutional Court has not yet been implemented for six months. The Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK) and the local court have not removed the access blocks to the website.

'What is the local court waiting for?'

Sharing the recent ruling of the Constitutional Court on his social media account, Ali Ergin Demirhan from the Editorial Board of sendika.org has protested the injustice in question.

"These Constitutional Court rulings, which have been ignored by the Gölbaşı Penal Judgeship of Peace, the addressee of the rulings, for six months, are apparently handed down not in order to put them into effect, but to prevent any possible European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) rulings in our favor," Ali Ergin Demirhan has indicated.

Further in his social media message, Demirhan has said, "Because we also have a file at the ECtHR and whenever a progress is made in that file, a Constitutional Court ruling comes into the agenda."

Addressing the Presidency of the Court, Demirhan has asked: "Do the Constitutional Court give these rulings to deceive the ECtHR or to defend our Constitutional rights? If there is no higher court than the Constitutional Court, what is the Gölbaşı Penal Judgeship of Peace waiting for?"

What happened?

The first access block was imposed on the website by the TİB on July 25, 2015. Since then, access to "sendika.org" has been blocked for 62 times in total. Keeping on making news by getting different domain names, the news portal currently uses the "sendika63.org" address.

As the reason for the first access block was there a reference to a news report criticizing Turkey's policy regarding the civil war in Syria.

sendika.org has taken a legal action against all access blocks; however, they have been rejected by the local courts. Since October 9, 2015, sendika.org has submitted 17 applications to the Constitutional Court.

In the face of long silence of the Constitutional Court, Sendika.org appealed to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in February.

The Constitutional Court pronounced its first verdict on the access block imposed on sendika.org in March 2020.

Concluding the application of sendika.org dated October 2015 after four and a half years, the Constitutional Court concluded that the access block imposed on the entire website violated freedom of expression.

The Court also ruled that the penal court of peace which ruled for the access block should remove its related order. (HA/SD)