Turkey's Communications Directorate has said that BBC News correspondent Mark Lowen was deported due to a lack of proper accreditation, denying that the decision was related to his coverage of protests following the arrest of İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu.
Lowen said that he was deported yesterday after being held in custody for 17 hours. He had been in Turkey for several days to report on the recent protests against the arrest of İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu. In a statement following his return to the UK, Lowen said police told him he was considered a “threat to national security.”
BBC News described the incident as “deeply troubling.”
However, in a statement late yesterday, the Communications Directorate said the deportation stemmed from Lowen not holding the required documentation to work as a journalist in Turkey.
“As is publicly known, accreditation procedures for foreign press members operating in Türkiye—whether permanent or temporary—are carried out in accordance with Articles 9, 39, and 40 of the Press Card Regulation,” the statement read. “Journalists who enter our country and engage in professional activities without properly submitting an application are subject to administrative measures.”
“Mark Lowen, a UK citizen and BBC employee, travelled to İstanbul and reported without prior notification to, or accreditation from, our Directorate. As a result, administrative action was taken against him," said the statement.
Neither the BBC nor Lowen mentioned accreditation issues in their statements as the reason for the deportation. In a follow-up article later today, Lowen said the police hadn't mention the issue during this detention. It might have been an "afterthought on their part to attempt to justify my case," the journalist asserted.
Associating the Deportation of BBC News Correspondent Mark Lowen with “Journalistic Activities and Protest Coverage” is Disinformation
— Dezenformasyonla Mücadele Merkezi (@dmmiletisim) March 27, 2025
As is publicly known, accreditation procedures for foreign press members operating in Türkiye—whether permanent or temporary—are carried out in… pic.twitter.com/HiUdTLsNNJ
(VK)