BBC reporter deported from Turkey after covering protests
A BBC reporter has been deported from Turkey after covering protests against the arrest of a leading opposition figure.
Correspondent Mark Lowen had only been in the country for several days to report on the unrest sparked by the detention of Ekrem Imamoglu on corruption charges when he was detained.
Mr Imamoglu, who is seen as the main political rival of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey's president, has denied wrongdoing.
A BBC spokesman said: 'This morning [March 27] 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.'
It came after he was presented with a written notice stating he was being deported for 'being a threat to public order', the corporation added.
Mr Lowen said: 'To 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.'
Deborah Turness, the chief executive of BBC News, said: 'This is an extremely troubling incident and we will be making representations to the Turkish authorities.
'Mark is a very experienced correspondent with a deep knowledge of Turkey and no journalist should face this kind of treatment simply for doing their job. We will continue to report impartially and fairly on events in Turkey.'
Demonstrations began in Istanbul last week after Mr Imamoglu was arrested – just as voters began casting their ballots in a primary that was expected to name him as the opposition CHP party's candidate for the 2028 presidential election.
The protests have spread to more than 55 of the country's 81 provinces, leading to clashes with riot police and international condemnation.
Mr Imamoglu is widely considered the only politician who can defeat Mr Erdogan at the ballot box.
However, in the space of four days, the 53-year-old went from being the mayor of Istanbul – the post that kick-started Mr Erdogan's political rise decades earlier – to being arrested, interrogated, jailed and stripped of his mayorship.
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