Turkey PM: Twitter is a ‘tax evader’
Erdogan blocked access to Twitter late March, but a court ruling lifted the ban two-weeks later
Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Twitter of tax evasion, after blocking the site on which leaks revealing corruption in the official’s inner circle were posted.
“Twitter, YouTube and Facebook are international companies established for profit,” Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in televised remarks. “Twitter is at the same time a tax evader. We will go after it," according to AFP.
Erdogan blocked access to the micro-blogging site in March 21, but the ban was lifted two-weeks later after a court ruled the block breached freedom of expression in the county and was therefore unconstitutional.
Online leaks anonymously uploaded on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube appeared to imply and further confirm the involvement of the top official and his inner circle in a scandal which erupted since last June.
Access to video-sharing website YouTube has been blocked since March 27. A court ordered the government to restore access, but the ban continues.
Turkey’s clampdown on the social sites sparked criticism among human rights groups, the country’s NATO allies, and the international community.
Erdogan dismissed accusations that the ban was curbing the rights to free speech in the country.
(With AFP and Reuters)
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