Turkey crackdown on journalists and protesters
Newshour
BBC
4.4 • 984 Ratings
🗓️ 27 March 2025
⏱️ 48 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
After days of protests following the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, Turkish authorities have arrested almost 1,900 people including protesters and journalists. Also on the programme, US President Donald Trump said he would target imported vehicles and vehicle parts with a 25% tax; and we talk to the Palestinian-American comedian Mo Amer on using humour to tell sometimes uncomfortable truths about the immigrant experience.
(Photo: A person carries an image depicting Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu as people flash mobile phone lights during a protest against the arrest of Imamoglu as part of a corruption investigation, in Istanbul, Turkey, March 25, 2025. REUTERS/Umit Bektas)
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello and welcome to NewsHour live from the BBC World Service in London. I'm Rebecca Kesb. |
| 0:09.7 | And we begin the programme today in Turkey, the scene of massive protests in recent days, not just in the main city, Istanbul, but across the country. |
| 0:19.0 | More than 1,800 people have been arrested. Tear gas and rubber |
| 0:23.7 | bullets have been fired by police. The demonstrations began when the popular mayor of Istanbul |
| 0:29.4 | and political rival of President Edouan was arrested last Wednesday, but now there are fears |
| 0:35.5 | that the authorities are cracking down on media outlets. |
| 0:39.5 | Opposition TV stations have been ordered to suspend some programming, and several |
| 0:44.7 | journalists, both local and international, have been arrested, including the BBC's own Mark Lowen, |
| 0:51.7 | who at one point was the BBC's correspondent in Turkey and had returned to cover the protests. |
| 0:57.7 | Today, he was deported, accused by the authorities of being a threat to public order. |
| 1:03.7 | Here he is reporting from the protests earlier this week. |
| 1:07.1 | I've had to come a little bit away from the crowd because the authorities jam the internet signal around the protest site. So in order to be able to speak to you, I've just come a little bit further up the road. But I can still see very large crowds of protesters who are waving Turkish flags. They are waving flags of Ekremi Mamolu, this detained and arrested mayor of Istanbul, and they have |
| 1:28.4 | gathered outside the city hall. |
| 1:30.7 | Well, Mark Lowen released a statement today. |
| 1:33.0 | He said, to be detained and deported from the country where I previously lived for five years |
| 1:38.5 | and for which I have such affection has been extremely distressing. |
| 1:43.1 | Press freedom and impartial reporting are fundamental to any |
| 1:47.5 | democracy. Well, just before we came on air, I spoke to Phil Chetwynd. He's the director of global news |
| 1:54.1 | for the AFP News Agency based in Paris. And he told us that several of his journalists have also been |
| 2:00.2 | arrested by the police in Turkey. |
| 2:02.6 | One of our staff photographer Yassin Agul was arrested four days ago while covering the demonstrations |
| 2:09.5 | in Istanbul. He was arrested at his house. So there were dawn raid in the morning by masked |
... |
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