Thread by @StefSimanowitz

1/. A week ago, 2 powerful earthquakes shook the region near the Turkish-Syrian border, claiming tens of thousands of lives & opening 190-mile-long fissure

Humanitarian crises that result from natural disasters can create human rights issues & exacerbate existing vulnerabilities

https://twitter.com/amnesty/status/1622635183307472897

2/. After any natural disaster, the free flow of information is critical

So why did the authorities in Turkey restrict Twitter?

According to @IndexCensorship, the Twitter throttling - which lasted 12 hours - “was a direct response to political criticism"
indexoncensorship.org/2023/02/the-sh…

3/. Last week, a 3-month state of emergency was announced which included prison terms for anyone “spreading fake news, exaggerated rumours & news intended to cause panic”.

There have been numerous reports of journalists threatened, harassed, detained or prevented from reporting.

https://twitter.com/mlsaturkey/status/1624433683485655041

4/. “We call on Turkish authorities to immediately lift the restrictions on access to information & freedom of expression, & ensure that journalists are not blocked from covering the news”

Free speech orgs @EFJEUROPE @ECPMF @article19org @globalfreemedia.
europeanjournalists.org/blog/2023/02/0…

5/. The Turkish govt introduced a smartphone app to report people who are believed to have produced or disseminated fake news or disinformation online

In the days after the earthquake, 302 people had reportedly been investigated, 37 detained & 14 arrested
thearabposts.com/earthquake-hit…

6/. It's not just social media users who've been targeted

There have been reports of journalists being detained or arrested whilst trying to do their work or for social media posts.

Several journalists in Diyarbakır reported that they were blocked from reporting from the field.

7/. Criticism of Turkey's emergency response to the earthquake has been growing with survivors & opposition MPs accusing the govt of slow & inadequate relief effort

There are also mounting questions around historic failures to enforce building regulations spectator.co.uk/article/turkey…

8/. "The scale of damage indicates that buildings didn’t meet safety standards."

Questions have been raised about Turkey's lax enforcement of building regulations, use of the estimated $4.6b proceeds of the earthquake tax, & an amnesty for illegal construction.
#TurkeyEarthquake

9/. In the wake of the earthquake, disturbing unconfirmed videos on social media appear to show violence & torture by security forces & by others against alleged “looters”

@amnesty’s digital verification team are examining some of the footage & @aforgutu put out this thread👇

https://twitter.com/aforgutu/status/1625080376916942848