Constitutional Court (AYM), which announced its decision on 62 access bans, including the applications of the Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA) against the access bans imposed on Podcast Kurdî and haberercis.com, ruled that the bans violated the right to freedom of expression.
In the decision dated November 23, 2023, it was noted that the unjustified access blocking decisions violated the freedom of expression and that the blocking of access to news and content constituted an interference with the freedom of expression in terms of the freedom to receive and impart information.
On January 11, 2024, the Constitutional Court ruled on the "Ahmet Altan Sabancı and Others Application" and collectively ruled on several applications regarding access restrictions.
In the decision, it was stated that access blocking decisions issued pursuant to Article 8/A of Law No. 5651 do not meet the legal foreseeability requirement.
Erciş News, a news website that covers social events in Turkey, especially in Van, was banned from access on April 9, 2019. The appeal against the access ban was rejected by the Erciş Criminal Judicature of Peace. On July 1, 2019, MLSA filed an application to the Constitutional Court on the grounds that the access ban violated the right to access information.
The application filed by the MLSA on behalf of Rabia Çetin, who hosts the news program "iro çi bu - what happened today" on the Kurdish-language Podcast Kurdî (podcastkurdi.com) website, was based on the access ban imposed on a tweet regarding a Podcast Kurdî broadcast.
The court ruled that freedom of expression under Article 26 of the Constitution was violated. The decision has the quality of precedent against the unjustified rejection of appeals against access bans.
