Türkiye detains 138 people over social media posts about earthquakes

Photo: AA

Some 138 people were detained because of "provocative" social media posts about the powerful earthquakes on February 6, the police announced today (February 23).

Courts arrested 27 of those suspects, the General Directorate of Security said on its Twitter account.

The police had identified 951 social media users and initiated legal action against 559 of them, according to the statement.

The directorate did not disclose the charges against those who were detained or arrested.

In October, the parliament enacted a sweeping law that would see those "spreading disinformation" sent behind bars for up to three years.

Two days after the devastating earthquakes, the authorities restricted the bandwidth of Twitter for nearly an entire day. The restriction was lifted after widespread criticism that Twitter had an important role in rescue efforts, with many people under the rubble tweeting their locations to call for help.

According to what is known as the "social media law" enacted in 2020, the Information Technologies and Communications Authority (BTK) has the authority to restrict the bandwidth of social media platforms for 10 hours at times of "war, attacks, natural disasters and similar extraordinary situations."

For restrictions for over 24 hours, the agency needs a court order.

On February 6, two earthquakes with a magnitude of 7.7 and 7.6 struck the southern city of Maraş.

The quakes caused destruction in 10 cities in Türkiye's south and southeast, as well as Syria's northern parts.

The official death toll from the quakes stands at over 42,000 and is expected to increase further, as over 160,000 buildings were completely destroyed or severely damaged. (VK)