BBC's Mark Lowen Shares Experience of Deportation Amid Turkish Protests

Fri Jul 18 2025 14:22:58 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)
BBC's Mark Lowen Shares Experience of Deportation Amid Turkish Protests

Mark Lowen narrates his unexpected deportation from Turkey while covering escalating protests against the government, highlighting concerns over press freedom.


Mark Lowen recounts his abrupt detention and subsequent deportation from Turkey after reporting on anti-government demonstrations, emphasizing Turkey's deteriorating press freedom and the political climate under President Erdogan.


In a startling turn of events, BBC correspondent Mark Lowen found himself unexpectedly deported from Turkey while covering widespread protests ignited by the arrest of Ekrem Imamoglu, the opposition mayor of Istanbul. Just a few days into his return to a country he once reported from, Lowen received a call from his hotel receptionist asking him to discuss an “urgent matter” — a moment that would lead to his arrest by plain-clothes police officers.

Upon arrival at the police station, Lowen was initially kept in a cordial atmosphere, where he was allowed brief visits from colleagues and lawyers. During this time, police officers expressed their disagreement with the state’s decision to detain him. However, the situation quickly escalated when he was transferred to a harsher environment in the foreigners' custody unit. There, he faced 17 hours of isolation and fingerprinting, eventually receiving deportation papers citing him as a “threat to public order” without a clear explanation for the decision.

As Lowen was escorted to the airport, he experienced the chaos and constraints of an unjust system, noting the plight of many journalists in Turkey, where press freedom has consistently deteriorated. Since the onset of protests, over 2,000 individuals have been detained, including several journalists facing similar fates.

The unrest, largely driven by discontent over President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's authoritarian regime, has drawn attention to Turkey's pressing issues regarding democracy and human rights. Despite the government's attempts to downplay the demonstrations, activists persist in their demand for political reform. Amid this backdrop, Erdogan remains resilient, dismissing protests as “street terrorism,” reinforced by perceptions of international support.

As the world watches with bated breath, the future of Turkey’s protests hangs in the balance, raising critical questions about the country's enduring fight for democracy and the subsequent silence imposed on its media.

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