Turkey deports BBC reporter for ‘posing threat to public order’

BBC correspondent Mark Lowen has been deported from Turkey after being detained in İstanbul on Wednesday on accusations that he posed a “threat to public order,” the BBC reported.

Lowen had been in Turkey for several days to report on ongoing protests that were sparked by the detention and subsequent arrest of İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu.

İmamoğlu — who is being held in jail on corruption charges he denies — is seen as President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s main political rival.

He has been selected by his party as its presidential candidate in the 2028 election.

In a statement issued on Thursday, the BBC said: “This morning (27 March) the Turkish authorities deported BBC News correspondent Mark Lowen from Istanbul, having taken him from his hotel the previous day and detained him for 17 hours.

On Thursday morning, he was presented with a written notice that he was being deported for ‘being a threat to public order.'”

Lowen said: “To be detained and deported from the country where I previously lived for five years and for which I have such affection has been extremely distressing. Press freedom and impartial reporting are fundamental to any democracy.”

On March 24 the journalist had tweeted:”Merhaba Türkiye! So good to be back in my beloved Istanbul, even if dark clouds are descending…” with a photo of the Taksim Mosque in central İstanbul.

The BBC’s CEO of News Deborah Turness added: “This is an extremely troubling incident and we will be making representations to the Turkish authorities.

“Mark is a very experienced correspondent with a deep knowledge of Turkey and no journalist should face this kind of treatment simply for doing their job. We will continue to report impartially and fairly on events in Turkey.”

Thousands of people across Turkey have turned out for protests that have so far seen more than 1,800 people detained.

The protesters say İmamoğlu’s arrest is politically motivated, but the justice ministry insists on its judicial independence.

President Erdogan has labelled the demonstrations “street terror” and blamed the opposition for “disturbing the peace.”

Several journalists have also been arrested, including a photojournalist from French news agency Agence France Presse and a number of Turkish reporters. Many were released on Thursday morning.