A Turkish court yesterday, Monday, ordered the arrest of a young woman on charges of “inciting hatred and insulting the president”, as … he criticized the ban imposed on the social networking platform Instagram, it was reported by the TV station Habertuk and other media.

The Erdogan government blocked access to Instagram on August 2, claiming that the social media site did not comply with Turkish “laws and regulations” and the sensitivities of Turkish public opinion. He lifted the ban on Saturday after announcing that the media outlet, which is owned by Meta Platforms, had agreed to cooperate with authorities to address the government’s concerns.

In an interview posted on a YouTube channel last week, when Instagram was still blocked, the arrestee (Dilbura Y) was one of several bystanders who were asked what they thought of the ban.

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

Yesterday’s arrest, which was ordered by a local court in Izmir, came after the head of Turkey’s RTUK broadcasting board criticized street interviews published on social media, claiming they “manipulate public opinion”.

The ban on Instagram was imposed after a top Turkish official accused the social network of blocking posts expressing condolences for his murder Ismail Haniya, of the leader of the Islamist Palestinian organization Hamas.