Turkish authorities have blocked the X (formerly Twitter) account of jailed Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu following a legal request connected to a post made in April.
 Imamoglu, who has nearly 10 million followers, has been in jail since March 19 after he was accused of corruption charges he denies.
 His detention led to major protests across the country, with thousands hitting the streets in his support.
On Thursday morning, users in Turkey could no longer view his account, as a message on the platform stated it had been withheld due to a legal order.
The Turkish presidency later confirmed that the move followed an investigation by Istanbul prosecutors into a post shared on Imamoglu’s account on April 24.
 The content was accused of inciting the public to commit crimes and threatening public order, prompting authorities to demand a block on the account until the legal process is completed.
Although prosecutors said Imamoglu did not personally make the post, they still requested that access be denied while he remains in detention.
 The controversial post had condemned the arrest of lawyers and other government critics, urging citizens to speak out.
The situation escalated quickly, as watchdog group EngelliWeb reported that the action was taken under national security laws.
They cited Article 8/A of Turkey’s Internet Law, which allows platforms to remove content that is considered harmful to public order.
The Freedom of Expression Association also criticized the block, calling it a pattern of silencing voices that question the government.
Mass rallies have been ongoing since Imamoglu’s arrest, although turnout had started to drop in recent weeks.
However, his supporters returned in large numbers on Wednesday to join a protest organized by the opposition party CHP in Istanbul. Imamoglu, in his last post before the account was blocked, had urged citizens to attend the rally.
Legal steps have now begun to challenge the block.
A lawyer representing X in Turkey submitted a lengthy document to a court in Istanbul, objecting to the order. Meanwhile, users have begun to show their support by replacing their profile pictures with Imamoglu’s image.
Imamoglu remains in Silivri prison on the outskirts of Istanbul.
 His arrest may prevent him from contesting the 2028 presidential election, where he was seen as a key challenger to President Erdogan.
