Turkish authorities have announced the closure of the independent news site T24. It is about one of the most read portals in Turkey.
The government in Ankara accuses journalists of LGBT propaganda. The Turkish Minister of Justice announced that the website was shut down on Wednesday evening. The platform can no longer be read in the country, without a VPN.
“The Internet accounts and social networks of T24, an online news portal that published 118 LGBT propaganda contents last year, were closed by the Istanbul first instance court. The decision was forwarded to the Cyber Security Directorate for execution,” the Turkish authorities announced.
The portal is closed as part of the campaign “My Family is Safe”, which represented a raid carried out among the ranks of LGBT people throughout Turkey, on September 12, reports news.ro.
Authorities then carried out dozens of arrests, following protests, in the country’s three largest cities, Ankara, Istanbul, and Izmir.
The government announced that it will continue this campaign, despite the protests of the European Union (EU) and some international NGOs.
The T24 editorial team sees it as the climax of an ever-increasing pressure.
“We are one of the most important independent digital publications in Turkey. We have been targeted in a harassment campaign on social networks for several days. Certain social network accounts claim that T24 receives foreign funds to protect the LGBT movement,” declared the T24 journalists, after announcing the decision.
T24 has a headquarters in Istanbul and an office in Ankara, with approximately 40 employees, including those working on the YouTube channel and social media accounts.
Homosexuality is not subject to criminal liability in Turkey, however, it is widely rejected, and homophobia is prevalent up to the highest levels of the state.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan regularly labels lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transsexuals as “perverts” and blames them for the drastic decline in birth rates.