NEWS

Turkey: Owner of online dictionary site questioned over Prophet Mohammed post
Çağatay Gürtürk, owner of the collaborative dictionary website ITÜ Sözlük, was detained while trying to enter Turkey on the night of January 14.
16 Jan 15
Caption

Index on Censorship’s project to map media violations in the European Union and candidate countries has recorded 74 incidents in Turkey since May 2014.

Çağatay Gürtürk, owner of the collaborative dictionary website ITÜ Sözlük, was detained while trying to enter Turkey on the night of January 14. Authorities were investigating a posting on the site that allegedly “humiliating” to the Prophet Mohammed.

Gürtürk was released shortly after and published an open letter to the press on ITÜ Sözlük’s website saying that the website has been involved in lawsuits over the last ten years.

Gürtürk also wrote on the website, “The freedom to disseminate thought is a universal and constitutional right and people’s websites have become the most valuable tools in the world to use this freedom.”

This article was posted on January 16, 2015 at indexoncensorship.org

Support free expression for all

 

At Index on Censorship, we believe everyone deserves the right to speak freely, challenge power and share ideas without fear. In a world where governments tighten control and algorithms distort the truth, defending those rights is more urgent than ever.

But free speech is not free. Instead we rely on readers like you to keep our journalism independent, our advocacy sharp and our support for writers, artists and dissidents strong.

If you believe in a future where voices aren’t silenced, help us protect it.

Make a £10 monthly donation

At Index on Censorship, we believe everyone deserves the right to speak freely, challenge power and share ideas without fear. In a world where governments tighten control and algorithms distort the truth, defending those rights is more urgent than ever.

But free speech is not free. Instead we rely on readers like you to keep our journalism independent, our advocacy sharp and our support for writers, artists and dissidents strong.

If you believe in a future where voices aren’t silenced, help us protect it.

Make a £20 monthly donation

At Index on Censorship, we believe everyone deserves the right to speak freely, challenge power and share ideas without fear. In a world where governments tighten control and algorithms distort the truth, defending those rights is more urgent than ever.

But free speech is not free. Instead we rely on readers like you to keep our journalism independent, our advocacy sharp and our support for writers, artists and dissidents strong.

If you believe in a future where voices aren’t silenced, help us protect it.

Make a £10 one-off donation

At Index on Censorship, we believe everyone deserves the right to speak freely, challenge power and share ideas without fear. In a world where governments tighten control and algorithms distort the truth, defending those rights is more urgent than ever.

But free speech is not free. Instead we rely on readers like you to keep our journalism independent, our advocacy sharp and our support for writers, artists and dissidents strong.

If you believe in a future where voices aren’t silenced, help us protect it.

Make a £20 one-off donation

At Index on Censorship, we believe everyone deserves the right to speak freely, challenge power and share ideas without fear. In a world where governments tighten control and algorithms distort the truth, defending those rights is more urgent than ever.

But free speech is not free. Instead we rely on readers like you to keep our journalism independent, our advocacy sharp and our support for writers, artists and dissidents strong.

If you believe in a future where voices aren’t silenced, help us protect it.

Donate a different amount

SUPPORT INDEX'S WORK