TURKEY BLOCKS ACCESS TO TWITTER AND YOUTUBE OVER IMAGES OF HOSTAGE TAKING

Turkey has blocked access to twitter (TWTR.N) and  YouTube (GOOGL.O) on Monday following their refusal to remove images of an Istanbul prosecutor held at gunpoint  by far-left militants.

The images on display were taken hours before the prosecutor was killed during a shootout last week according to officials.

Facebook (FB.O) on the other hand said it has complied to a Turkish court order that required it to restrict access to some contents or face a block on its service.

Presidential Spokesman, Ibrahim Kalin said a prosecutor had demanded the block on access to some social media sites as some media organisations had acted as"if they were spreading terrorist propaganda" in sharing the images of hostage taking.

Ibrahim Kalin further said, "This has to do with publishing of the prosecutors picture. What happened in the aftermath(of the prosecutor's killing) is as grim as the incident itself"

"The demand from the prosecutor's office is that this image not be used anywhere in electronic platforms", Kalin told a news conference in Ankara.

Mehmet Selim Kiraz died on Tuesday from wounds after security forces stormed the office where the far-left Revolutionary People's liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C) had taken him hostage. The two captors were also killed.

The DHKP-C  had published a picture of Kraz with a gun on his head and said Kraz would be killed unless their demands were met.

The wife and kids of Kraz are deeply upset  and traumatised as the images are everywhere.

"A request has been made to both Twitter and YouTube for the removal of the images and posts but they have not accepted it and no responses has been given" the official said. "That's why this decision has been taken through a court in Istanbul"

Meanwhile Google said it was working to restor service to YouTube video-sharing site which it owns. Twitter said it is also working to restore access to its users.

photo: Reuters. Story culled from Reuters.