MLSA's appeal against decision on GSM operators and BTK dismissed, case to be taken to Constitutional Court
The Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA) had its appeal dismissed regarding a previous decision not to pursue legal action against GSM operators and the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK) over service disruptions during the February 6, 2023, earthquakes in Turkey.
The Istanbul 10th Criminal Judgeship of Peace reviewed the appeal and upheld the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office’s decision to dismiss the case, stating that the decision was in accordance with legal procedures and the evidence collected during the investigation. The court found no errors or legal violations in the evaluation of the evidence or the decision-making process.
MLSA plans to take the case to the Constitutional Court.
Background: On February 6, 2023, two powerful earthquakes centered in Kahramanmaraş and Gaziantep devastated southeastern Turkey, resulting in the deaths of around 50,000 people. Following the disaster, the services of GSM operators in the region became inoperable, leaving many families unable to contact loved ones and hampering efforts to coordinate aid. Many people, including those trapped under rubble, turned to social media to request help. However, a bandwidth throttling imposed by the BTK on platforms like Twitter and TikTok further impeded these efforts.
In response, lawyer Veysel Ok filed a criminal complaint against the GSM operators four days after the earthquakes, accusing them of "obstructing communication," "involuntary manslaughter," and "negligent injury" for their failure to improve services. The complaint also targeted BTK officials, accusing them of the same crimes as well as "misconduct in office," citing the lack of legal or ethical justification for the bandwidth throttling.
