Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“BBC correspondent Mark Lowen has been deported from Turkey after being arrested in Istanbul on Wednesday, the BBC has said. Lowen had been in Turkey for several days to report on the ongoing protests that were sparked by the Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu’s arrest last week. Imamoglu — who is being held in jail on corruption charges he denies — is seen as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s main political rival. He has been selected by his party as presidential candidate in the 2028 election. In a statement issued on Thursday, 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.’ On Thursday morning, he was presented with a written notice that he was being deported for ‘being a threat to public order,’ the statement said.” (03/27/25)