“We are of course bound by the Constitutional Court verdict, but I don’t have to respect it,” said the Turkish leader on Friday, a day after Ankara lifted the ban on the social media website Twitter.
"I don't respect this ruling."
On April 1, Turkey’s Constitutional Court ruled that the government’s ban on Twitter “violated Article 26 of the Constitution safeguarding freedom of expression,” and thus must be lifted.
Erdogan's government has been rattled by the twin crises of street protests since last June and, since December, a torrent of online leaks on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube which appeared to implicate the premier's inner circle in corruption.
Ankara blocked access to Twitter on March 20, after it was used to spread corruption allegations against the Turkish prime minister and his inner circle.
The Turkish premier further pointed to a recent spate of online leaks targeting him and his close allies, saying, “All our national, moral values have been put aside. Insults to a country’s prime minister and ministers are all around.”
In late March, Ankara also blocked access to Google’s video-sharing website YouTube after the publication of an audio recording on the video sharing website, revealing a discussion among top Turkish security officials about a possible false flag operation to justify a military offensive in Syria.
The Turkish government condemned the leak on YouTube as an act of espionage and said it had created “a national security issue.”
Erdogan had ordered the Internet curbs in the run-up to key local elections last Sunday, in which his ruling Justice and Development party (AK) won a majority of the local government seats despite recent graft allegations and a harsh police crackdown on anti-government protesters last June.
SHI/SHI