Watchdog

The head of Turkey’s communications agency says Ankara will not allow access to the online encyclopedia Wikipedia inside the country until it removes information that the Turkish government has deemed as false.

Turkey's Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK) banned Wikipedia.org on April 29 as an "administrative measure" and a court in Ankara on May 2 backed the measure up with a formal court order.

"It's impossible for access to Wikipedia to be allowed until judiciary decisions are followed," BTK head Omer Fatih Sayan said on May 3.

State media said the ban was imposed because Wikipedia failed to remove content accusing Turkey of cooperating with terrorist groups.

The state media reports said Wikipedia must also remove content that has been deemed by Ankara as promoting terrorism.

The Wikimedia Foundation has appealed the Ankara court's ruling.

Officials in Istanbul on May 2 also removed Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales from the guest list of the World Cities Expo -- a May 15-18 international conference in the city.

Turkey in the past has temporarily blocked access to websites such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube following terror attacks or antigovernment demonstrations.

Opponents of the blockages say they restrict freedom of speech and civil liberties

Turkey's government insists the bans are temporary and are necessary for national security.

Based on reporting by AFP and hurriyetdailynews.com

Georgia’s former prime minister, Vano Merabishvili, and former Justice Minister Zurab Adeishvili, have been found guilty of abusing their powers during 2004 and sentenced to prison.

The Tbilisi City Court issued guilty verdicts and sentences on May 3.

Merabishvili received a 27-month sentence on charges linked to his time in office as Georgia's interior minister, while Adeishvili, tried in absentia, was sentenced to 18 months in jail.

The 49-year-old Merabishvili emerged as a key government figure after Georgia's 2003 Rose Revolution, serving as interior minister from 2004 to 2012 before becoming prime minister.

He is currently serving a multiyear sentence on previous convictions of abusing his office, bribing voters, and ordering the beating of a person.

The 44-year-old Adeishvili worked briefly in 2015 as an advisor to the Ukrainian government.

He now lives in Ukraine. Kyiv has refused to extradite Adeishvili to Georgia.

Supporters of Merabishvili and Adeishvili insist the charges against them are politically motivated and part of a "witch-hunt" by Georgia's current government.

In June 2016, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the detention of Merabishvili was being used by Georgian officials for other motives in violation of the European Convention of Human Rights.

Based on reporting by apsny.ge and Kavkazsky Uzel