Over the weekend, the Turkish government moved to block Wikipedia, restrict television dating shows and purge more than 3,900 individuals from civil service and the military.
The country has routinely blocked access to Facebook, Twitter and YouTube in recent years, specifically amid times of heightened unrest during protests or in the wake of bomb attacks. Thousands of individuals have also already been removed from their positions since a failed military coup last summer.
The decision to block Wikipedia came after the site refused to remove articles and comments that suggest Turkey is cooperating with terrorist organizations. Dating shows were apparently targeted because many politicians and citizens see them as having a damaging influence on traditional family values.
All of this is being done in the interest of "national security."
Wikipedia blocked
"After technical analysis and legal consideration … an administrative measure has been taken for this website [Wikipedia],” the BTK telecoms authority said, according to The Guardian.
Turkey Blocks, a group that monitors censorship in the country, said the move was "consistent with internet filters used to censor content in the country."
The founder of Wikipedia quickly responded on Twitter, saying that "access to information is a fundamental human right."
TV dating shows restricted
"Some of these shows are really out of control,” Mr Kurtulmus, who is part of a deeply Islamist wing of the ruling Justice and Development (AKP) party, said, according to the Financial Times.
“They are against our family values, culture, faith and traditions," he said.
It's unclear which TV dating shows will be affected by the ban.
More than 3,900 purged from civil service and the military
Prison guards, clerks, academics, employees of the religious affairs directorate and 1,200 members of the armed forces – including nearly 600 officers – were expelled from their positions over the weekend.
This follows the suspension of more than 9,000 police officers last week and the detention of another 1,000 for alleged links to the network of the U.S.-based cleric and opposition figure Fethullah Gulen. Erdogan blames Gulen for last year's failed coup; Gulen has consistently denied these claims.
Since the coup, some 120,000 people have been removed from their positions, with some 40,000 arrested.
"It is highly unlikely that the suspensions and detentions will have met due process standards," U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein, who hails from Jordan, told reporters on Monday.
