The Wikimedia Foundation has received reports that access to Wikipedia in Turkey is being restored, and this latest development comes after a decision on December 26 by the Turkish Constitutional Court to end the ban imposed by the Turkish government that lasted for more than two and a half years.
"We are pleased that the people of Turkey are able once again to participate in the largest global conversation about Turkey's culture and history via the Internet and to continue to make Wikipedia a vital source of information about Turkey and the world," said a Wikipedia statement.
"We are delighted to be alone with the people of Turkey," said Catherine Maher, executive director of the Wikimedia Foundation. "At Wikimedia, we are committed to protecting the right of everyone to access information. We are excited to share this important moment with the community of Turkish shareholders on behalf of those looking for knowledge everywhere."
The Executive Director confirmed that her institution was "actively reviewing the full text of the ruling of the Turkish Constitutional Court." "Meanwhile, the court is still looking into our case before the European Court of Human Rights," she noted.
The Turkish government banned Wikipedia in April 2017 after the Free Encyclopedia refused to remove content that allegedly provided support to terrorist and militant groups by the Turkish government. Turkish IP addresses have not been able to visit the site in any language, and is seen as the most severe ban on Wikipedia in the world.
There are more than 85% of articles on Wikipedia in languages other than English, among them more than 335,000 articles on Turkish Wikipedia written by Turkish volunteers for Turkish speakers.