IZMIR, Turkey — Turkey’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs abruptly ended the post of nine honorary consuls, including those working for Belgium, Austria, Sweden and the UK, despite requests by some of the countries to maintain them in their posts.

The Foreign Ministry did not offer a reason for the decision, but the honorary consuls who talked to Al-Monitor said that they thought the reason, at least for half of them, was their criticism toward the Turkish government and its policies both in speech and on social media. 

“I was told that it was because of my social media posts that criticized the government,” said one ex-consul of an EU country speaking on condition of anonymity. “I know that at least some of the representations requested the MFA to reconsider their position, but they met with a strict no.”

The claims that the social media posts played a role in the ministry’s decision to strip the honorary consuls of their posts come at a time when social media users in Turkey regularly face harassment, censorship or arrest over comments critical of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the government. Even old social media posts may prove to have long shadows. Earlier this year, journalist Melis Alphan faced charges of “spreading terrorist propaganda” over a photo that she posted on social media of the 2015 Newroz celebrations in the southeastern province of Diyarbakir. Similarly, thespian Genco Erkal faces four years of imprisonment for several social media posts, one of which dates back to 2016. He is charged with insulting the president with a post that asked him to “display his university diploma.”