Turkish court orders YouTube blocked
ANKARA (AFP) — A Turkish court ordered telecom authorities Tuesday to block access to the popular video-sharing website YouTube over videos that allegedly insulted the country's leaders, a report said.
The decision followed a complaint by a resident in the eastern city of Sivas that the site hosted videos containing insults against Turkey's founding father Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, President Abdullah Gul, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the army, the Anatolia news agency reported.
The court ruling has been forwarded to the state regulatory body, the Telecommunications Board, to be put into effect, the agency said.
YouTube said in a written statement, carried by Anatolia, that it was ready to cooperate with Turkish authorities to resolve the dispute.
In March, the country's largest telecommunications provider, Turk Telekom, blocked access to YouTube on a court order following a clip that allegedly insulted Ataturk.
Ataturk, who proclaimed modern day Turkey in 1923, is seen as a national hero by secular Turks and his legacy is protected under a special law.
Users regained access two days later after YouTube removed the video and Turk Telekom petitioned the court to revoke the ban.
