Mathias Depardon had been taken into custody on May 8 in Hasankeyf district of Batman province while doing a report on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers for National Geographic magazine. Though his planned deportation was on May 11, Depardon is still being kept in a removal center in Oğuzeli district of Antep province and being charged with “propagandizing for an illegal organization” due to some photographs he had posted on Instagram.
On May 25, President of France Emmanuel Macron in a meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Brussels had demanded that the situation of the journalist be examined and Erdoğan stated that they would respond to the demand as soon as possible. RSF also organized a demonstration in front of the Minicipality of 4th District in Paris on June 7 demanding the release of Depardon.
Depardon was deported to France today on June 9, after being kept one month in detention in a removal center in Antep province.
