Turkey has shut down Facebook, Twitter, What’s App and Youtube in order to prevent citizens from communicating with each other. Turkey does this often during unrest.
It’s confirmed that Twitter and Facebook are blocked in #Turkey. I got this when I connected through a Turkish VPN. pic.twitter.com/krRzXCR6oN
— Ahmed Zidan (@zidanism) July 15, 2016
The apps were done for about two hours when they were restored.
As part of the crackdown, they have detained Kurdish MPs and have questioned them:
The arrests were made in what was called “terrorist propaganda” involving the PKK, the Kurdish group that is wanting independence.
The lawmakers were detained after “failing to appear for a summons to testify as part of a counter-terrorism investigation,”Anadolu state news agency reported.
The testimonies are connected to “terrorist propaganda” probes related to the Kurdish militant group PKK, and to the pro-Kurdish protests with violent clashes of October 2014, which HDP co-chair Demirtas is accused of inciting.
The MPs were required to show up for testimonies after their parliamentary immunity was lifted thanks to the law passed in the parliament in March. The two HDP leaders reportedly vowed not to testify.
Police broke into the home of HPD co-leader Figen Yüksekdağ in Diyarbakir and detained her early Friday, while Selahattin Demirtas was detained in his Ankara house.
Erdogan has been on guard since a coup attempt failed earlier in the year while he was out of the country. Erdogan has since passed from the world of rational fear and into the realm of paranoia. He has fired and punished thousands in an effort to shore himself up.
Turkey will continue to remain unstable for years to come.