27 March 2025
BBC correspondent Mark Lowen was detained and deported from Turkey after covering the mass protests that erupted following the detention of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu. On the morning of 27 March, Lowen was served with a notice stating that he would be deported on the grounds of “posing a threat to public order” and for “conducting journalism without accreditation.” The Presidency’s Directorate of Communications announced that Lowen had engaged in reporting “without applying for accreditation.” Lowen, who had previously worked in Istanbul for five years, was expelled from Turkey on these grounds.
