Turkey deports Dutch journalist sparking row over press freedom

A Dutch journalist based in Turkey was deported from the country on Thursday, a day after she was arrested, on suspicion of links to terrorism, Turkish officials said. The officials said Ans Boersma's deportation was not related to her journalistic activity but that Ankara had received a tip-off from the Dutch police that she had links to a terror group. Boersma, a freelance journalist based in Istanbul who has contributed articles to the financial newspaper Het Financieele Dagblad, had announced she had been expelled.

"I got arrested yesterday (Wednesday), got deported this morning. Flying out now," she said in a messaging group for foreign journalists in Turkey. Fahrettin Altun, communications director at the Turkish presidency, confirmed her expulsion but said it "was in no way related to her journalistic activities during her stay in Turkey." "The Turkish authorities have recently received intelligence from the Dutch police that Ms Boersma had links to a designated terrorist organisation and a request for information about her movements in and out of Turkey," he said.

It was not immediately clear to which terror group the journalist had alleged links. A number of groups including the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the Islamic State have carried out a spate of attacks in Turkey in recent years. "Due to the seriousness of the threat, we work closely with our friends and allies, including the Netherlands, and rely on their insights to identify and neutralise threats against Turkish and European security," Altun said.

Until now, the Turkish authorities, with help from their international partners, have blacklisted tens of thousands of individuals with links to terrorist organisations as part of an ongoing effort to combat extremism, he noted. Another Turkish official, who wished to remain anonymous, said Boersma's press credentials were valid until January 31, 2019. Human rights defenders have raised concerns over a clampdown on freedom of expression in Turkey under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, with dozens of journalists and civil society activists put behind bars.

Turkey is ranked 157th out of 180 countries in the Reporters Without Borders 2018 World Press Freedom Index. In December, a Turkish court ordered the release from jail of an Austrian student and journalist charged with being a member of a terror group. Max Zirngast, who writes for the far-left German-language magazine Re:volt, had been formally arrested by an Ankara court in September.

(With inputs from agencies.)