Turkey | Posts on Erdogan’s death and persecution of Twitter users

Defence Redefined

Published on 03/11/2021 at 16:20

The Turkish Police Cybercrime Department has announced that it will prosecute people who spread rumours about President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s health with relevant posts on Twitter.

Since Wednesday 3/11, posts on Twitter have been talking about Erdogan’s death caused by a stroke. The Turkish police say they have located 30 people who used #ölmüş (dead) in their posts referring to the Turkish president. These individuals will be prosecuted for insulting and falsifying facts concerning the country’s president.

Also at noon, the Turkish presidency’s communications officer, Fahrettin Altun, apparently to refute the rumours, posted a video on Twitter showing Erdogan getting out of his limousine in Istanbul.

Relevant reports have been circulating in the Turkish and foreign press as rumours of the Turkish president’s health grow, while the president himself worries a lot about his safety, as shown in the reason he gave for not being able to attend the conference on Climate Change held in Glasgow.

With information from: Turkish Police, Twitter

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