Pressemitteilung: Menschenrechts-Klage

“Wir begrüßen diesen Vorstoß gegen den Wikipedia-Blockade in der
Türkei sehr. Freies Wissen lebt von Zugang. Ausschluss schadet dagegen
allen. Die Informationsfreiheit im Netz, die wir derzeit als Teil des
Grundgesetzes feiern, braucht die türkische Perspektive für die
Wikipedia genauso wie die Menschen in der Türkei umgekehrt die Wikipedia
brauchen”, so Abraham Taherivand, Geschäftsführender Vorstand von
Wikimedia Deutschland.

Lesen Sie im Folgenden die Pressemitteilung der Wikimedia Foundation (englisch). Weitergehende Fragen richten Sie bitte an press@wikimedia.org.

Wikimedia Foundation petitions the European Court of Human Rights to lift the block of Wikipedia in Turkey

At the Wikimedia Foundation, we believe that free access to
knowledge and freedom of expression are fundamental human rights. We
believe that when people have good information, they can make better
decisions. Free access to information creates economic opportunity and
empowers people to build sustainable livelihoods. Knowledge makes our
societies more informed, more connected, and more equitable.

Over the past two years, we have seen governments censor
Wikipedia, including in Turkey and most recently in China, denying these
rights to millions of people around the world.

Today, we proceed to the European Court of Human Rights,
an international court which hears cases of human rights violations
within the Council of Europe, to ask the Court to lift the more than
two-year block of Wikipedia in Turkey. We are taking this action as part
of our continued commitment to knowledge and freedom of expression as
fundamental rights for every person.

This is not a step we have taken lightly; we are doing so only
after continued and exhaustive attempts to lift the block through legal
action in the Turkish courts, good faith conversations with the Turkish
authorities, and campaigns to raise awareness of the block and its impact on Turkey and the rest of the world.

Despite these efforts, Wikipedia continues to be blocked in Turkey after more than two years.

• • •

This news was announced in a press call with the Wikimedia
Foundation’s Executive Director Katherine Maher, Wikipedia founder Jimmy
Wales, and the Foundation’s Legal Director Stephen LaPorte.
[Placeholder quote from Katherine Maher in press call]
In our application to the Strasbourg Court, we argue that the blanket
ban of Wikipedia violates fundamental freedoms, including the right to
freedom of expression as guaranteed by Article 10 of the European
Convention. Moreover, these freedoms have been denied to the more than
80 million people of Turkey who have been impacted most directly by the
block, and to the rest of the world, which has lost the nation’s rich
perspectives in contributing, debating, and adding to Wikipedia’s more
than 50 million articles.

Over the past two years, the Wikimedia Foundation has done all
that it possibly can to lift the block of Wikipedia in Turkey. The order
blocking Wikipedia referred to only two articles, which have continued
to be open for improvement by anyone and edited by volunteers around the
world despite the block. It is unclear what, if any, concerns remain.
The block continues despite numerous good faith discussions with Turkish
authorities to understand their views, including through an open letter
to the Turkish Minister of Transport, Maritime, and Communication, to
discuss Wikipedia’s open editing model, values, and strong opposition to
impermissible censorship of any kind.

Immediately following the block, we filed our case in the
domestic courts, requesting that Wikipedia be unblocked on the grounds
that such a block violated the rights to freedom of expression and
freedom of the press. The lower courts have upheld the block, and there
has been no response from Turkey’s highest court in the two years since
we appealed the lower court’s decision. Consequently, we believe that
this step is necessary.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) is the international
court created by the European Convention on Human Rights to ensure the
enforcement and implementation of the human rights provisions set out in
the Convention. Turkey is a long-standing party to the Convention, and
the fundamental rights provided by the Convention are guaranteed in the
Turkish Constitution, which makes the interference with human rights in
this case all the more devastating. Moreover, internet blocks and
censorship are a growing concern for Council of Europe states, making
this case all the more pressing for consideration by the court.

Today, Wikipedia is one of the most widely-accessed sources of
knowledge in the world. It is read 6,000 times every second, and our
articles are edited, improved, and debated daily by a community of more
than 250,000 volunteers from across the globe. More than 85 percent of
those articles are in languages other than English, which includes the
Turkish Wikipedia’s more than 300,000 articles, written by
Turkish-speaking volunteers for Turkish-speaking people. These
volunteers make good-faith efforts to cover all sides of a given topic,
even controversial ones, to ensure people can understand topics fully
and transparently.

Wikipedia is better, richer, and more reflective of the world
when more people can engage with, improve, and edit its content. When
one nation is denied access to the global conversation on Wikipedia, the
entire world is poorer.

The Wikimedia Foundation is committed to upholding knowledge as a fundamental human right, to be enjoyed and protected for everyone, for our millions of users around the world. We announce our decision to file our application in the European Court of Human Rights today as a reflection of that commitment.

Weiterführende Links:

#WeMissTurkey-Video der Wikimedia Foundation, April 2019
Frei-lizenziertes Bildmaterial der #WeMissTurkey-Kampagne
Die korrekte Attribution freien Bildmaterials aus dem Medienarchiv Wikimedia Commons vereinfacht der Lizenzhinweisgenerator von Wikimedia Deutschland.

Wikimedia Deutschland
Wikimedia Deutschland ist ein gemeinnütziger Verein mit über 70.000
Mitgliedern, der sich für die Förderung Freien Wissens einsetzt. Seit
der Gründung im Jahr 2004 unterstützt der Verein verschiedene
Wikimedia-Projekte – allen voran Wikipedia. Der Verein setzt sich für
den kostenlosen Zugang zu Freiem Wissen ein und engagiert sich damit für
ein grundlegendes Recht des Menschen auf Bildung. Wikipedia ist, wie
auch andere Schwesterprojekte, unabhängig und werbefrei und nur durch
ehrenamtliche Mitarbeit und Spenden möglich.

​Webseite: https://www.wikimedia.de
Vereinsblog: http://www.blog.wikimedia.de
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/WikimediaDE
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/WMDEev

Für Rückfragen steht Ihnen gerne zur Verfügung:

Jan Apel
Medien- und Öffentlichkeitsarbeit
presse@wikimedia.de
Telefon: 030 219 158 26-0

Wikimedia Deutschland – Gesellschaft zur Förderung Freien Wissens e. V.
Tempelhofer Ufer 23-24
10963 Berlin
Germany

www.wikimedia.de

Der Verein Wikimedia Deutschland e. V. begrüßt die aktuelle Initiative der Wikimedia Foundation. Die US-amerikanische Stiftung hat Klage gegen die Blockade am Europäischen Gerichtshof für Menschenrechte (European Court of Human Rights, ECHR) eingereicht. Grundlage für die Anrufung des ECHR bildet die Verletzung des Menschenrechts auf freie Meinungsäußerung. Seit mehr als zwei Jahren ist Wikipedia in der Türkei von türkischen Behörden komplett gesperrt. Niemand kann auf die Informationen der größten Enzyklopädie der Welt zugreifen. Nicht nur die 80 Millionen in der Türkei lebenden Menschen sind von dem Wissenszugang Wikipedia ausgeschlossen, auch die Perspektiven und Diskussionen der türkischen Bevölkerung fehlen in Wikipedia der ganzen Welt.

“Wir begrüßen diesen Vorstoß gegen den Wikipedia-Blockade in der
Türkei sehr. Freies Wissen lebt von Zugang. Ausschluss schadet dagegen
allen. Die Informationsfreiheit im Netz, die wir derzeit als Teil des
Grundgesetzes feiern, braucht die türkische Perspektive für die
Wikipedia genauso wie die Menschen in der Türkei umgekehrt die Wikipedia
brauchen”, so Abraham Taherivand, Geschäftsführender Vorstand von
Wikimedia Deutschland.

Lesen Sie im Folgenden die Pressemitteilung der Wikimedia
Foundation (englisch). Weitergehende Fragen richten Sie bitte an
press@wikimedia.org.

Wikimedia Foundation petitions the European Court of Human Rights to lift the block of Wikipedia in Turkey

At the Wikimedia Foundation, we believe that free access to
knowledge and freedom of expression are fundamental human rights. We
believe that when people have good information, they can make better
decisions. Free access to information creates economic opportunity and
empowers people to build sustainable livelihoods. Knowledge makes our
societies more informed, more connected, and more equitable.

Over the past two years, we have seen governments censor
Wikipedia, including in Turkey and most recently in China, denying these
rights to millions of people around the world.

Today, we proceed to the European Court of Human Rights,
an international court which hears cases of human rights violations
within the Council of Europe, to ask the Court to lift the more than
two-year block of Wikipedia in Turkey. We are taking this action as part
of our continued commitment to knowledge and freedom of expression as
fundamental rights for every person.

This is not a step we have taken lightly; we are doing so only
after continued and exhaustive attempts to lift the block through legal
action in the Turkish courts, good faith conversations with the Turkish
authorities, and campaigns to raise awareness of the block and its impact on Turkey and the rest of the world.

Despite these efforts, Wikipedia continues to be blocked in Turkey after more than two years.

• • •

This news was announced in a press call with the Wikimedia
Foundation’s Executive Director Katherine Maher, Wikipedia founder Jimmy
Wales, and the Foundation’s Legal Director Stephen LaPorte.
[Placeholder quote from Katherine Maher in press call]
In our application to the Strasbourg Court, we argue that the blanket
ban of Wikipedia violates fundamental freedoms, including the right to
freedom of expression as guaranteed by Article 10 of the European
Convention. Moreover, these freedoms have been denied to the more than
80 million people of Turkey who have been impacted most directly by the
block, and to the rest of the world, which has lost the nation’s rich
perspectives in contributing, debating, and adding to Wikipedia’s more
than 50 million articles.

Over the past two years, the Wikimedia Foundation has done all
that it possibly can to lift the block of Wikipedia in Turkey. The order
blocking Wikipedia referred to only two articles, which have continued
to be open for improvement by anyone and edited by volunteers around the
world despite the block. It is unclear what, if any, concerns remain.
The block continues despite numerous good faith discussions with Turkish
authorities to understand their views, including through an open letter
to the Turkish Minister of Transport, Maritime, and Communication, to
discuss Wikipedia’s open editing model, values, and strong opposition to
impermissible censorship of any kind.

Immediately following the block, we filed our case in the
domestic courts, requesting that Wikipedia be unblocked on the grounds
that such a block violated the rights to freedom of expression and
freedom of the press. The lower courts have upheld the block, and there
has been no response from Turkey’s highest court in the two years since
we appealed the lower court’s decision. Consequently, we believe that
this step is necessary.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) is the international
court created by the European Convention on Human Rights to ensure the
enforcement and implementation of the human rights provisions set out in
the Convention. Turkey is a long-standing party to the Convention, and
the fundamental rights provided by the Convention are guaranteed in the
Turkish Constitution, which makes the interference with human rights in
this case all the more devastating. Moreover, internet blocks and
censorship are a growing concern for Council of Europe states, making
this case all the more pressing for consideration by the court.

Today, Wikipedia is one of the most widely-accessed sources of
knowledge in the world. It is read 6,000 times every second, and our
articles are edited, improved, and debated daily by a community of more
than 250,000 volunteers from across the globe. More than 85 percent of
those articles are in languages other than English, which includes the
Turkish Wikipedia’s more than 300,000 articles, written by
Turkish-speaking volunteers for Turkish-speaking people. These
volunteers make good-faith efforts to cover all sides of a given topic,
even controversial ones, to ensure people can understand topics fully
and transparently.

Wikipedia is better, richer, and more reflective of the world
when more people can engage with, improve, and edit its content. When
one nation is denied access to the global conversation on Wikipedia, the
entire world is poorer.

The Wikimedia Foundation is committed to upholding knowledge as a
fundamental human right, to be enjoyed and protected for everyone, for
our millions of users around the world. We announce our decision to file
our application in the European Court of Human Rights today as a
reflection of that commitment.

Weiterführende Links:

#WeMissTurkey-Video der Wikimedia Foundation, April 2019
Frei-lizenziertes Bildmaterial der #WeMissTurkey-Kampagne
Die korrekte Attribution freien Bildmaterials aus dem Medienarchiv Wikimedia Commons vereinfacht der Lizenzhinweisgenerator von Wikimedia Deutschland.

Wikimedia Deutschland
Wikimedia Deutschland ist ein gemeinnütziger Verein mit über 70.000
Mitgliedern, der sich für die Förderung Freien Wissens einsetzt. Seit
der Gründung im Jahr 2004 unterstützt der Verein verschiedene
Wikimedia-Projekte – allen voran Wikipedia. Der Verein setzt sich für
den kostenlosen Zugang zu Freiem Wissen ein und engagiert sich damit für
ein grundlegendes Recht des Menschen auf Bildung. Wikipedia ist, wie
auch andere Schwesterprojekte, unabhängig und werbefrei und nur durch
ehrenamtliche Mitarbeit und Spenden möglich.

​Webseite: https://www.wikimedia.de
Vereinsblog: http://www.blog.wikimedia.de
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/WikimediaDE
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/WMDEev

Für Rückfragen steht Ihnen gerne zur Verfügung:

Jan Apel
Medien- und Öffentlichkeitsarbeit
presse@wikimedia.de
Telefon: 030 219 158 26-0

Wikimedia Deutschland – Gesellschaft zur Förderung Freien Wissens e. V.
Tempelhofer Ufer 23-24
10963 Berlin
Germany

www.wikimedia.de