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Turkish authorities deported a BBC News correspondent on Thursday after detaining him for 17 hours and branding him a \u201cthreat to public order.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mark Lowen, who was the BBC\u2019s Greece correspondent for much of the Greek financial crisis, from 2011 to 2014, had been in Turkey to cover mass street protests triggered by the arrest and jailing of Istanbul\u2019s Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu.<\/p>\n
BBC News CEO Deborah Turness called the deportation \u201cextremely troubling\u201d and said the broadcaster would raise the issue with Turkish authorities.<\/p>\n
Lowen, who previously lived in Turkey for five years, said his expulsion was \u201cextremely distressing\u201d, adding that press freedom is essential to democracy.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo 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,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Imamoglu, President Tayyip Erdogan\u2019s biggest political rival who leads him in some polls, was jailed on Sunday, pending trial on corruption charges which he denies. Imamoglu and his supporters say his detention is politically motivated and anti-democratic, an assertion that Erdogan\u2019s government denies.<\/p>\n
His arrest has prompted the largest anti-government protests in Turkey in more than a decade and has led to the detention of nearly 1,900 people across the country.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Turkey\u2019s media watchdog, the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTUK), imposed fines on four broadcasters over coverage related to the arrest of Imamoglu, a RTUK member said.<\/p>\n
Sanctions were issued against programs aired on pro-opposition channels SZC TV, Tele1, and Halk TV as well as NOW TV, for alleged violations.<\/p>\n
Additionally, SZC TV was ordered to halt broadcasting for 10 days, with RTUK warning that a third violation could result in the revocation of its license. [Reuters, Kathimerini, BBC]<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n