Former European parliamentarian and journalist Joost Lagendijk tweeted that he was denied entry to Turkey on Sunday on the grounds that he needed to obtain a “special visa” from the Turkish Embassy in the Netherlands.
“Turkish authorities stopped me on my return from Neth at Sabiha Gökcen airport. I am not allowed in. Send back to Neth on 8.30 flight. Need to apply for a special visa at Turk embassy in Neth. Hope it is only a bureaucratic obstacle and not a decision to block me forever,” Lagendijk said in subsequent tweets on Sunday.
Lagendijk was a columnist with Turkish dailies Zaman and Today’s Zaman, both of which were closed down under a state of emergency decree issued by the Turkish government after a coup attempt on July 15.
He was a former GreenLeft Member of the European Parliament (MEP) and served as joint chairman of the European Parliament Delegation to the EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee. In 2006 Lagendijk was married to Nevin Sungur, an award-winning journalist and reporter for the Turkish channel NTV.