Turkey faces heavier censorship with new Internet law
ISTANBUL: The European Union (EU) has expressed "serious concerns" over Turkey's new Internet law, which approves the blocking of web pages within hours without a prior court order.
The government said the new law is aimed at protecting individual privacy.
But critics said that with freedom of speech already restricted through bans, arrests of journalists and alleged pressure by politicians, Turkey is becoming more conservative.
Censorship in Turkey has a long history.
The Ottoman king, Sultan Abdl Hamid, apparently forbid the word nose from being printed, because he hated his large nose.
In modern-day Turkey, books, newspapers and other media continue to face heavy censorship.
Political satire, sex and controversial history are frequently banned, and the offending artists and writers can face fines, job loss and even imprisonment.
Cartoonist Halil Inescu has had 250 pieces of work censored, and the magazine he works for has even been bombed.
After completing one particularly controversial political cartoon, he was sentenced to 10 months in prison and banned from drawing political cartoons for three years.
I never self-censored because of the legal authorities -- I count that as a shameful thing. Im really against self-censorship and censorship. I never accept it, said Halil Inescu.
Read this article:
Turkey faces heavier censorship with new Internet law