Presidency: Ans Boersma Not Deported Due to Journalistic Activities

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Presidency Director of Communications Fahrettin Altun has made a statement on his Twitter account regarding Ans Boersma, Turkey correspondent to the Netherlands-based Het Financieele Dagblad (FD) finance newspaper, who has been recently deported from Turkey.

CLICK - Journalist Ans Boersma Deported from Turkey

Altun: "Netherlands said she had links to al-Nusra"

Making a statement on Twitter, Fahrettin Altun has said,

"The Netherlands told Turkey that the reporter, who was deported today, had links to Jabhat al-Nusra. We acted on intelligence from the Netherlands and took a precautionary measure.

"If a credible foreign government agency tells you that one of their citizens has links to terrorism, you don't take any chances. The Dutch authorities alone are in a position to explain why they arrived at that conclusion. We won't speculate on the credibility of their intelligence."

The Netherlands told Turkey that the reporter, who was deported today, had links to Jabhat al-Nusra.

We acted on intelligence from the Netherlands and took a precautionary measure.

— Fahrettin Altun (@fahrettinaltun) 17 Ocak 2019

If a credible foreign gov't agency tells you that one of their citizens has links to terrorism, you don't take any chances.

The Dutch authorities alone are in a position to explain why they arrived at that conclusion. We won't speculate on the credibility of their intelligence.

— Fahrettin Altun (@fahrettinaltun) 17 Ocak 2019

The Netherlands: We didn't request her extradition

In response to the Twitter messages of Fahrettin Altun, The Netherlands National Prosecutor's Office also released a statement and indicated that "Boersma was not deported or extradited upon their request."

Boersma on parliamentary agenda in the Netherlands

As reported by the BBC Türkçe, the deportation of Ans Boersma has also been brought into parliamentary agenda in the Netherlands.

In a parliamentary question jointly submitted by the coalition party Democrats 66 (D66) and Christian Democrat Party (CDA), the reason of Boersma's deportation has been asked to Minister of Foreign Affairs Stef Blok.

CLICK - No Freedom in Sight for News, No End to Court-Prison for Journalists

(EKN/SD)