Turkey suspended access to the Instagram social media network on Friday, the national communications authorities stated without explanation, following a high-ranking Turkish official accusing the US corporation of censorship.

In a post on its website, the BTK communications authority stated that “instagram.com has been blocked by a decision on the date of 02/08/2024”, without providing any other information.

Many Turkish users complained on the X platform about being unable to refresh their Instagram feed, which AFP journalists confirmed.

Fahrettin Altun, the Turkish presidency’s communications director, accused Instagram on Wednesday of “preventing people from publishing condolence messages for the martyr Haniyeh.”

Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of the militant Palestinian Islamist group Hamas and a close associate of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was assassinated in Tehran on Wednesday in an attack blamed on Israel.

“This is a very clear and obvious attempt at censure,” Altun stated on X.

AFP