A high court in Turkey ruled on Thursday that the country’s ban on Wikipedia was unconstitutional, dealing a victory to free speech advocates more than two and a half years after the ban was imposed amid a crackdown on access to information. The Turkish Constitutional Court — the highest court that could consider the issue — ruled in favor of Wikipedia after the online encyclopedia’s lawyers argued that the ban violated the right to freedom of expression, which is protected by the Turkish Constitution, according to Stephen LaPorte, the legal director for the Wikimedia Foundation, which runs Wikipedia. The foundation said in a statement Thursday that it hoped “access will be restored in Turkey soon.” A summary of the case was posted on the court’s website. But before the ban is lifted, a full opinion will most likely need to be published, said Yaman Akdeniz, a law professor at Istanbul Bilgi University who had also challenged the ban on Wikipedia. “We join the people of Turkey, and the millions of readers and volunteers who rely on Wikipedia around the world, to welcome this important recognition for universal access to knowledge,” the foundation said in its statement.

Source: New York Times December 26, 2019 19:52 UTC