Two Turkish –Cypriot men have been arrested and remanded in custody after insulting Turkish Cypriot Mehmet Ali Talat on a personal internet webpage.
According to our correspondent in north Cyprus, the two men made various “insulting remarks” about Talat on their Facebook page, which was spotted by the Turkish Cypriot security services.
After appearing before a judge yesterday, the court requested that the men, aged 19 and 21, remain in custody whilst investigations continue.
As the number of websites being blocked by Turkey’s courts and government rise, so do concerns about Internet censorship in the country and Ankara’s already troubled record on freedom of speech.
Internet providers, chat rooms, blogs, message boards and personal websites based in north Cyprus are actively monitored by the “police” and security services.
The Turkish Cypriot north is seen as a breakaway state, with only Turkey recognizing it - the Turkish telecom giant Turkcell, own most of the telephone and internet infrastructure in the north.
In recent weeks all computers in northern Cyprus have also been banned from using video site Youtube, in line with a Turkish court ban.
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