Turkey lifts ban on Twitter but talks with YouTube are 'still underway'
TURKISH authorities have lifted a ban on Twitter – just several hours after access to the popular social networking site was blocked.
Authorities blocked both Twitter and YouTube after a judge imposed a blanket ban on any media sites which featured photos of slain hostage Mehmet Selim Kiraz.
Mr Kiraz was killed last week after being taken hostage by far-left group, the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C).
The demand from the prosecutor's office is that this image not be used anywhere in electronic platforms
Two gunmen took prosecutor Mr Kiraz in an armed siege on an Istanbul central courthouse.
The DHKP-C published pictures of Mr Kiraz with a gun pressed against his head – and said it would kill him unless its demands were met.
Mr Kiraz and the two gunmen were killed in a vicious shootout as police stormed the building in a daring rescue bid.
Turkish authorities had previously put a stop on newspapers printing any images from the siege, which took place last Tuesday.
"This has to do with the publishing of the prosecutor's picture. What happened in the aftermath is as grim as the incident itself," said Presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin told a news conference in Ankara.
"The demand from the prosecutor's office is that this image not be used anywhere in electronic platforms."
Presidential spokesman Kalin said a prosecutor had demanded the block because some media organisations had acted "as if they were spreading terrorist propaganda" in sharing the images of the hostage-taking.
The lifting of the ban came after Twitter complied with Turkey's request to remove photographs of the Istanbul prosecutor.
"Twitter has agreed to shut down accounts and remove images relating to last week's hostage-taking. The web site will reopen to access very shortly," the official, who has not been named, told Reuters earlier today.
"Users across Turkey will be able to access the site within the hour."
Twitter was not immediately available for comment but had confirmed earlier that it was working to restore service.
Talks with YouTube are believed to still be underway, the official added.
Facebook said it had complied with a Turkish court order requiring it to restrict access to some content or face a block on its service.
A company spokesman said it would appeal the order.
"The wife and children of prosecutor Kiraz have been deeply upset. The images are everywhere," a Turkish official said.
Turkey temporarily blocked Twitter and YouTube before local elections in March 2014, after audio recordings purportedly showing corruption in then-Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's inner circle were leaked on their sites.
The decision caused a public uproar and drew heavy international criticism.
