Turkey deports Dutch journalist

ISTANBUL

A Dutch journalist based in Istanbul was deported on Jan. 17 by Turkish police, Dutch financial daily Het Financieele Dagblad said in a report.

Ans Boersma, the Istanbul correspondent of the daily, was taken to a repatriation center on Jan. 16 when she went to an immigration center to extend her residence permit, it reported.

Turkish authorities have not given any official reason, only citing “security related reasons,” according to the report.

“Ans did her work sensibly and responsibly. This measure is a flagrant violation of press freedom,” Jan Bonjer, chief editor of Het Financieele Dagblad, said.

After spending the night at the repatriation center, she was taken to the airport for a morning flight to the Netherlands.

Boersma, based in Istanbul since 2017, had received a Turkish press card for 2019 on Jan. 8.

“And then suddenly you are back on the plane back to the Netherlands,” she tweeted on Jan. 17.

Boersma and the Dutch daily will appeal the six-year ban to enter Turkey.