Twitter suspends Turkish opposition accounts amid massive protests against arrest of presidential rival



In Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has established an authoritarian regime, and in March 2025, the police arrested Erdogan's biggest political opponent, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu . In response to this, large-scale protests have been ongoing in Turkey, and it has been reported that X (formerly Twitter) has suspended the accounts of opposition activists involved in these protests.

Musk’s X suspends opposition accounts in Turkey amid civil unrest – POLITICO
https://www.politico.eu/article/musks-x-suspends-opposition-accounts-turkey-protest-civil-unrest-erdogan-imamoglu-istanbul-mayor/



37 detained over provocative social media posts on Imamoglu case: Interior Minister - Türkiye Today
https://www.turkiyetoday.com/turkiye/37-detained-over-provocative-social-media-posts-on-imamoglu-case-interior-minister-133648/

In Turkey, Critics of Erdogan See Democracy Eroding After Istanbul Mayor's Detention - The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/22/world/middleeast/turkey-erdogan-democracy-istanbul-mayor-detention.html

In Turkey, the Justice and Development Party led by President Erdogan has been in power for a long time, but in recent years the opposition Republican People's Party has been gaining strength with popular support. Contrary to expectations, the Republican People's Party won the unified local elections in March 2024, marking the first defeat for the Justice and Development Party, which had won every election since 2002.

Erdogan's biggest political opponent is Imamoglu, the mayor of Turkey's largest city, Istanbul, who was expected to be the opposition candidate in the presidential election scheduled for 2028.

In response, Turkish authorities have stepped up their crackdown on Imamoglu and those around him, and on March 18, 2025, Istanbul University revoked Imamoglu's graduation and degree, citing 'fraud.' Turkey requires a university degree as a necessary qualification for presidential candidates, so Imamoglu will not be able to run for president as things stand. Imamoglu and others have indicated that they will file a legal challenge against this decision, but due to political pressure on the judiciary, it is highly likely that a fair decision will not be made.

Furthermore, on March 19, police arrested Imamoglu on charges of corruption and other offences, and on the 23rd it was decided that he would be imprisoned before the court could issue a formal ruling. In response, large-scale protests have broken out across Turkey, with authorities detaining more than 300 people. The Republican People's Party also announced on the 23rd that Imamoglu had been officially selected as the next presidential candidate , with party leader Ozgür Ozer stating that 'we will take on the fight in the elections,' and calling for early elections.

Türkiye's Istanbul mayor arrested, opposition parties and supporters intensify backlash | NHK | Türkiye
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20250324/k10014758451000.html



Meanwhile, political media outlet Politico reported that accounts related to Republican People's Party activists have been suspended one after another on X. Many of the protests have been centered around universities, and many of the accounts suspended this time belong to activists with ties to universities. These accounts were reportedly sharing information about protests and informing students who wanted to participate in protests of meeting places.

Some accounts appear to have only been suspended in Turkey, while others have resumed their activities by creating new accounts in other countries. Activist Omer Faruk Aslan said in a second X account he created: 'Yesterday, my account was blocked by court order because my tweets were viewed more than 6 million times. That's why I created this account. I would appreciate it if you could share this tweet as well. I am posting information from my area of operation.'



Meanwhile, Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya reported in a post on X that 326 social media accounts inciting hatred have been identified so far, and 54 suspects have been arrested in a coordinated operation by cyber and security authorities.



Turkey passed a new law in 2022 aimed at controlling social media and news sites, granting the government broad and vague powers to crack down on online content. As a result, the suspensions and arrests are likely legal.

This is not the first time that X has restricted access to content in Turkey; it also restricted access to some content in 2023, when Erdogan was seeking re-election as president.



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