Turkey bans biologist Richard Dawkins' website

Ankara - Turkish internet users have been blocked via a court order from accessing the site of prominent British biologist Richard Dawkins after complaints from lawyers for Islamic creationist author Adnan Oktar, the website of Turkish television station NTV reported on Wednesday. A court in Istanbul ordered that Turk Telekom block access to the site and since the weekend Turkish internet users seeking the site have been redirected to a page that says in Turkish 'access to this site has been suspended in accordance with a court decision'. NTV reported that Oktar complained he and his creationist book 'Atlas of Creation' had been defamed by comments made by Dawkins on the site. 'I am at a loss to reconcile the expensive and glossy production values of this book with the breathtaking inanity of the content,' Dawkins, a distinguished advocate of the theory of evolution, wrote on his website in July referring to the Atlas of Creation. The book has caused controversy not just through its advocation of creationism but also through how thousands of copies of book were distributed to schools in a number of European countries. Oktar has used the Turkish courts on a number of occasions, the latest being earlier this year when he attempted to have Dawkins' book The God Delusion banned in Turkey on the basis that it was insulting religion but a Turkish court threw the case out. In August 2007, Oktar, who writes under the pen name Harun Yahya, convinced a Turkish court to block access to millions of web blogs using the Wordpress.com hosting service after finding that a number of blogs carried libellous comments. In May, Oktar was found guilty of creating an illegal organization for personal gain and sentenced to three years imprisonment. He is appealing the decision.

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turkishJul 12th, 2009 - 11:59:07

Turkiye doesn't need to enter the European Union. Because EU. is one of the religious sect. If Turkiye get rid of AKP then we will find ourselfs. Atatürk said that we should focus on science and not bother ourselfs about religion bullshit as I think we need to follow this path than Turkey will be more independent and enlightened than all the countries in the World and it is not too far for us.

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GarudaAug 8th, 2009 - 09:57:36

Adnan Oktar is 'so called' a cult leader in Turkey and had been kept legcuffed in mental institution for 10 months in 1989 with a diagnosis of paranoid schizoid.This guy involved in many illegal events and probably will be in jail with his servants for 3 years after the court confirmed his punishment.

Richard Dawkins site has been banned in Turkey as well as Youtube and many others.Also Adnan Oktar is prohibited in Turkey by court not to leave Turkey borders.
So don't take him serious.

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