Turkey's court rules block on Wikipedia violates rights
With six out of 10 votes, the court rules in favour of the online encyclopedia blocked in the country since April 29, 2017.
It was not immediately clear when access to the website would be restored.
Turkey's highest court on Thursday ruled in favour of Wikipedia, saying the Turkish government's two-year ban on the online encyclopedia constitutes a violation of freedom of expression.
The judges voted 10-6 in favour of Wikipedia, Anadolu Agency reported.
There was no immediate comment from the government and it was not immediately clear when access to the website would be restored.
Over two years of court battle
Wikipedia was blocked on April 29, 2017, due to articles and comments that Ankara believes falsely linked Turkey to various terrorist groups, according to the communications ministry.
The telecommunications authority –– which is required to take such measures to a court within 24 hours –– made this decision by citing a law that enables it to ban access to websites deemed a threat to national security.
A day later, an Ankara court ruled to ban the Wikipedia.
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.
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