Turkey Removes Ban on Wikipedia After Almost Three Years

(Bloomberg) -- Wikipedia is available in Turkey again after a nearly three-year ban.

The Turkish government agency in charge of internet technologies lifted the ban after the nation’s top court ruled last month that the restriction violated free speech.

A detailed explanation of the court’s ruling was published in the Official Gazette on Wednesday, prompting regulators to restore access to the website.

“As access to Wikipedia is still actively being restored across Turkey, some users in Turkey may experience restored access sooner or later than others,'’ the website said in a statement

The site was blocked in April 2017 after Wikipedia refused to remove entries that accused the government of cooperating with terrorist organizations.

The Turkish government has blocked access to other popular websites such as Twitter, YouTube and Facebook in the past, for allegedly promoting terrorist propaganda or insults against Turkish political figures.

The limits on free speech have been denounced by opposition parties as well as the European Union and human rights groups.

To contact the reporter on this story: Asli Kandemir in Istanbul at akandemir@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Stefania Bianchi at sbianchi10@bloomberg.net, ;Onur Ant at oant@bloomberg.net, Amy Teibel

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