Turkey ends three year ban on Wikipedia

Turkey is has finally listed its ban on Wikipedia after nearly three years.

According to a local newspaper, a Turkish court ruled that the ban curtailed citizens’ freedom of expression.

Wikipedia is a free web-based encyclopedia which is created and edited by volunteers worldwide.

Turkey blocked Wikipedia in April 2017 after the website declined to take down content critical about its government.

Wikipedia is hosted online by the Wikimedia Foundation. The Foundation refused to take down the articles, citing reasons that the Turkish government had cooperated with the so-called Islamic State (IS) group and al-Qaeda in Syria.

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A post by Wikimedia, on its blog, read, “We are thrilled that the people of Turkey will once again be able to participate in the largest global conversation about the culture and history of Turkey online and continue to make Wikipedia a vibrant source of information about Turkey and the world.”

Following the lifting of the ban, Turkish newspaper, Hurriyet said, “Wikipedia is finally free.”

Turkey will gradually lift the ban, with only some users being able to access the website at the moment.

Various local internet providers are quote, “still in the process of restoring access”.