Turkeys highest court has deemed the recent banning of YouTube a violation of people’s freedom of expression.

The verdict is a blow for Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan who advocated shutting down the site, on grounds of national security.

The video sharing platform drew the ire of the government after a controversial leaked conversation claimed to be of a government security meeting was posted online.

The recording appeared to show senior officials discussing a possible military intervention in Syria.

Last month the country’s high court issued a similar ruling in response to Twitter being shut down.