Turkey Blocks Access to Twitter, YouTube over Hostage Photos

Turkish authorities blocked access to Twitter and YouTube due to the websites' refusal to remove photos of a public prosecutor, who was taken hostage last week and was later killed by his abductors.

The Istanbul First Criminal Courts of Peace ruled in favour of the blockage of 166 websites, which published the controversial photos of prosecutor Mehmet Selim Kiraz while being held hostage.

The ban on Facebook was lifted after the social media website complied with the ruling, Hurriyet Daily reports.

Kiraz was taken hostage by two alleged members of the Marxist-Leninist DHKP-C group last week, but was shot by his captors when security forces stormed the courthouse and later died of his wounds.

The prosecutor had been working on the case of Berkin Elvan, who had been injured during the 2013 Gezi Park anti-government protests and died after spending almost nine months in a coma.

Before enforcing the blockage of websites, Turkish authorities took measures to prevent newspapers from printing images taken during the hostage crisis.