Turkish woman was arrested for criticizing the Instagram ban, Reuters reports

ANKARA (Reuters) – A Turkish court ordered the arrest of a woman on Monday on charges of inciting hatred and insulting the president after she criticized a ban on social media platform Instagram, the Haberturk station and other media said.

Turkey blocked Instagram on August 2 for not respecting its “laws and rules” and public sensitivities. It lifted the ban on Saturday after saying the app owned by Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: ) agreed to cooperate with authorities to address the government’s concerns.

In an interview posted on the YouTube channel last week, when the app was still blocked, the woman was one of several passers-by who were asked what they thought of the ban.

“It’s wrong. The president can’t ban Instagram as he wants,” the woman said. She also criticized President Tayyip Erdogan and those who supported the ban.

Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the arrest.

Monday’s arrest, ordered by a local court in the western city of Izmir, came after the head of RTUK criticized street interviews broadcast on social media, saying they “manipulate public opinion”.

The ban on Instagram came after a senior Turkish official accused the social media platform of blocking posts expressing condolences for the killing of Ismail Haniyeh, a leader of the Palestinian militant group Hamas.