Turkish Court Blocks Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu’s X Account

Ekrem Imamoglu X platform Turkish court account block freedom of expression

A Turkish court ordered the social‑media platform X to block access in Turkey to Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu’s presidential candidacy office account, which has about 225,700 followers. The court cited national security and public order as reasons. X complied with the restriction domestically but announced it is challenging the order in court, arguing it threatens freedom of expression. The decision follows a similar May 2025 order that blocked Imamoglu’s main X account, which had nearly 10 million followers.

Imamoglu, detained on 19 March 2025, remains in jail pending trial on graft, espionage and terrorism charges he denies. He was selected as the Republican People’s Party’s presidential candidate after his detention, and his university diploma was annulled by Istanbul University a day before he was arrested. Dilek Imamoğlu, his wife, condemned the new block as censorship, saying it undermines democratic debate and freedom of speech.

Entities: Dilek İmamoğlu · Ekrem İmamoğlu · Elon Musk · Istanbul 8th Criminal Judgeship of Peace · Tayyip Erdogan · Turkish court · X (formerly Twitter)

Claims

What the coverage asserts, and how well corroborated each claim is across sources.

[● 3 SOURCES] Imamoglu’s university diploma was annulled by Istanbul University a day before his detention. (university decision)
[● 3 SOURCES] The court cited national security and public order as reasons for the restriction. (court order)
[● 5 SOURCES] A Turkish court ordered X to block access in Turkey to Ekrem Imamoglu’s presidential candidacy office account. (court order)
[● 3 SOURCES] Imamoglu was selected as the Republican People’s Party’s presidential candidate after his detention. (party announcement)
[● 3 SOURCES] The account has around 225,700 followers. (X data)
[● 3 SOURCES] Ekrem Imamoglu was detained on 19 March 2025 and remains in jail pending trial on graft, espionage and terrorism charges he denies. (court and police reports)
[● 4 SOURCES] X complied with the order in Turkey but filed a legal challenge against it. (X statement)
[○ 1 SOURCE] Dilek Imamoğlu condemned the access block as censorship and an attack on freedom of expression. (public statement)