Reuters - Turkish authorities
are investigating some 10,000 people on suspicion of using social media to
support terrorism, the interior ministry said on Saturday, part of a wide
crackdown that has alarmed rights groups and some Western allies.
Turkey, which faces
security threats from Kurdish and leftist militants and Islamic State, has
sacked or suspended more than 100,000 people following an attempted military
coup in July. It says the measures are necessary to root out supporters of the
putsch and other terrorists.
Rights groups and
some European countries have said President Tayyip Erdogan is using the current
state of emergency to quash dissent. Since the coup, more than 150 media
outlets have been shut down and 140 journalists arrested.
The interior
ministry said on Saturday the fight against terrorism was being carried out
"with determination" in social media.
In the last six
months, authorities have detained 3,710 people for questioning, the ministry
said. Of those, 1,656 have been formally arrested and 84 are still being
questioned.
The remaining 1,970
have been released, although 1,203 of those are still being monitored, it said.
Access to social
media sites such as Twitter and Facebook is commonly blocked, particularly
after bombings or other deadly attacks, internet monitoring groups have said.
Turkey denies that it blocks the internet, and has previously blamed outages on
spikes in usage after major events.
Technical experts at
watchdog groups say the blackouts on social media are intentional, aimed in
part at stopping the spread of militant images and propaganda.
Reuters
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