BBC correspondent Mark Lowen was arrested and deported from Turkey, where he had been reporting on the nation's largest anti-government protest for many years.
The broadcaster said Lowen was arrested in Istanbul on Wednesday and was arrested for several days to cover the protests. It covered the protests, prompted by the arrest of Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamor last week.
In a statement, the BBC said: “This morning, Turkish authorities deported BBC News correspondent Mark Lowen from Istanbul and took him from the hotel the day before for 17 hours. Mark Lowen was in Turkey to report on the recent protests.
More than 1,850 people, including 11 Turkish journalists, have been detained in recent protests across the country.
The clash between protesters and security forces escalated Sunday night, with police using tear gas and rubber bullets against some demonstrators. They had previously used pepper spray and water cannon on Thursdays.
Imamol, considered the main rival of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's presidency, is being held on corruption charges he denied. His supporters say his arrest is politically motivated. He was appointed presidential candidate for Türkiye's major opposition parties shortly after he was detained.
In a statement, Lowen said: “It was extremely painful to be detained and deported from the country where I had previously lived for five years, and to be deported from a country where I had such love.
BBC News CEO Deborah Turnness said Lowen's deportation was “a very troublesome incident and will represent the Turkish authorities.”
“Mark is a very experienced correspondent with a deep knowledge of Turkey and journalists should not face this type of treatment simply to do their job. We will continue to report on Turkish events in a fair and fair manner,” she said.
Lowen reported directly from the protest and spoke to some of the people in the crowd. He said the protests “invigorate the aspect of Turkey that we feel is holding our breath by President Erdogan's authoritarian rule.” When asked what the protesters wanted, one said he wanted “pure democracy.”
“That's something everyone wants. There's nothing more, nothing else,” they said.
Media in all forms are being scrutinized in Türkiye, and popular apps like Instagram, WhatsApp and YouTube have faced restrictions in recent weeks. Some notable accounts on X are also restricted. The Turkish government maintains great power over social media content, based on the law passed in 2022.
On Thursday, broadcast watchdog Rtük said it had imposed a 10-day broadcast ban on opposition television channel Sözcü after allegations of incitement over reporting of the protest.
Erdogan describes the protest as a “movement of violence,” but despite some clashes, they were mostly peaceful.
Turkey ranks 158th in 180 countries and territories in an indicator of world reporters' freedom, edited by the Borderless Reporter (RSF), compiled last year. The low rankings were the result of journalist incarceration, online censorship and government rule of justice.
Erol Ornderol, the representative of Turkish RSF, condemned Loen's 17-hour detention. “This professional journalist and specialist in Turkey, where he lived for five years, has been accused of being a “threat to public order” to cover the protests in Istanbul,” he said.
“The RSF is urging Turkish authorities to halt the use of the legal system to criminalize journalists and to lift arbitrary ban on the entry of Mark Lowen and other foreign journalists into Turkish territory.”
Agence France-Presse said Thursday that photographer Yasin Akgul, among those arrested this week while covering the mayhem, was released. However, the charges against him have not been dropped. He was taken into custody on Monday on charges of “participating in illegal rallies and marches.”
Akgul was one of 11 Turkish journalists who were detained at the beginning of the week. Seven were later charged and detained. He was last released. The United Nations raised concerns about the arrests that the RSF described as part of a “dramatic escalation in the suppression of freedom of the press.”
