The X (formerly Twitter) account of jailed Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, a key rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has been blocked in Turkey following a legal demand, the social media platform confirmed on Thursday.
İmamoğlu, who was detained on March 19 and jailed on corruption charges he denies, has been at the center of a political storm. His arrest sparked Turkey’s largest protests in a decade, with critics accusing Erdoğan’s government of targeting political opponents. The main opposition party, the Republican People’s Party (CHP), has called İmamoğlu’s detention “a coup against our next president,” a charge the government rejects, insisting that the judiciary operates independently.
The blocking of İmamoğlu’s X account, which boasts nearly 10 million followers, came after a Turkish court order. A message posted on his account Thursday read “Account withheld,” stating that access had been blocked in response to the court’s legal demand. The post continued, stating that the action was in compliance with the court ruling.
X confirmed it had filed a legal challenge to the court’s decision, arguing that maintaining access to the platform in Turkey is critical for freedom of expression and access to information. “Lack of compliance with these orders can lead to severe sanctions, including throttling of the entire platform in Türkiye,” X’s global government affairs division stated.
The legal action stems from a post on April 24, where İmamoğlu condemned his arrest and criticized a broader judicial crackdown on opposition figures. He urged the public to speak out and “raise your voice” against what he called an unjust system. Following this, Istanbul prosecutors launched an investigation into whether the post incited criminal behavior, prompting a request to block his account until his pre-trial detention ends.
In response to the blockage, CHP leader Özgür Özel condemned the move as the “digital pillar of the coup,” adding that İmamoğlu’s messages would continue to be shared through a different X account while he remains in prison.
Opinion polls show that İmamoğlu’s popularity has surged since his arrest, with his approval ratings surpassing Erdoğan’s. Many political analysts view İmamoğlu as Erdoğan’s strongest rival in the 2028 presidential race, bolstering his status as a major force in Turkish politics.
