The Turkish government’s two-year ban on Wikipedia has been deemed unconstitutional by Turkey’s highest court.
The court, in a ruling, concluded that the two-year ban on the online encyclopedia constitutes a violation of freedom of expression, the state-run news agency reported.
Turkey blocked Wikipedia in April 2017, accusing it of being part of a “smear campaign” against the country, after the website refused to remove content that allegedly portrayed Turkey as supporting the Islamic State group and other terrorist organizations.
Access to Wikipedia was blocked under a law that allows the government to ban websites it deems to pose a threat to national security.
Wikipedia declined to remove content from the community-generated site, citing its opposition to censorship. It petitioned the Constitutional Court in May 2017 after talks with Turkish officials and a challenge in lower courts failed.
The Anadolu Agency reported that the Constitutional Court decided the ban amounted to a violation of freedom of expression. The justices voted 10-6 in favor of Wikipedia, the agency said.
There was no immediate comment from the government and it was not immediately clear when access to the website would be restored.
