The Turkish government warned against glorification of terrorism and terrorist attacks on social media after a heavily-armed terrorist stormed a nightclub in Istanbul on Jan. 1 killing at least 39 people.
Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım said on his official Twitter account that activities glorifying and justifying terror and terrorist attacks are a crime and will have consequential punishments.
In addition, Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ said on his official Twitter account that citizens should be more careful while committing activities that could prove to be criminal. Bozdağ warned that inciting hatred among the public, glorifying terror and instigating the people are crimes against the Turkish Constitution.
Following the cabinet meeting on Monday, Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmuş also said that the government is determined to bring an end to terror glorification on social media. "There are a handful people, several social media accounts, trolls that seek provocation, this is exactly what Daesh wants," Kurtulmuş said.
The prime minister called on Turkish citizens to be more responsible and careful after such terrorist attacks. An armed assailant opened fire at Reina, a popular nightclub in Istanbul, on Saturday night and escaped afterwards. Twenty-four of the attacker's victims were identified as foreigners, 11 were Turkish citizens while four victims still remain to be identified, officials said later on Sunday. Daesh claimed responsibility for the attack yesterday.
Yıldırım held a short news briefing in Istanbul on Sunday afternoon after he visited several victims injured in the gun attack at a nightclub in the city.
"Terrorism is humanity's common problem. Its aim is to break our unity and brotherhood," Yıldırım said, telling reporters Turkey was in a de facto war with the PKK, the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) and Daesh.
The interior ministry said in a statement in late December that a total of 3,710 suspects have faced investigations into spreading terrorist propaganda on social media during the last six months.
Of these, 1,656 of them were remanded in custody and 1,203 were released on condition of judicial control, while 767 others were released without such controls. The remaining 84 suspects are still being questioned by police.