BBC journalist Mark Lowen arrested and deported from Turkey after covering anti-government protests
A BBC journalist has been arrested and deported from Turkey while covering protests in the country. Mark Lowen was reporting on the ongoing protests in Istanbul after the arrest of the city’s mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu last week. Imamoglu is currently in custody after being charged with corruption, which he denies. He is considered the main political rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He was said to be running for presidential candidate for his party in the 2028 election, the BBC said.
In a statement, 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.”
He was slapped with a written notice on Thursday morning. It said he was being deported for “being a threat to public order”.
Mark 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.”
The CEO of News for the BBC, Deborah Turness, said: “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.”
So far, more than 1,400 people have been detained as thousands take to the streets to protest the arrest – with supporters saying it’s politically motivated. The justice ministry is maintaining that it is pursuing the charges independently. President Erdogan has branded the protests “evil”.
More than 100 police have been injured as demonstrators armed with knives, acid and Molotov cocktails pushed back against a crackdown against the growing unrest. On Monday, at least eight reporters and photojournalists were dragged from their homes and detained by Turkish authorities.
Turkey’s interior minister Ali Yerlikaya said: “Terrorising our streets and threatening the peace and security of our nation will absolutely not be tolerated.”
Mr Imamoglu was jailed on suspicion of running a criminal organisation, bribes, extortion, illegally recording personal data and bid-rigging. He has denied the accusations. A request for him to be imprisoned on terror-related charges was rejected although he still faces prosecution. The Interior Ministry later announced that Mr Imamoglu had been suspended from duty as a “temporary measure”.
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