Turkish border officials in Istanbul detained and denied entry to a New York Times reporter without giving any explanation, the paper reported, as concerns grow over press freedoms in Turkey.
The journalist, Rod Nordland, was denied entry to Turkey after landing at Ataturk Airport on Tuesday.
The move comes amid a crackdown after a failed coup in July, which has resulted in mass arrests of army officers as well as journalists, activists and academics.
Nordland said he was stopped by border police and told that his name was on an interior ministry order to deny entry. He was put on a flight back to London.
A Turkish lawyer for the Times said police officers told a colleague he was denied entry over “national security” concerns.
The Times said Turkish authorities had previously signaled discontent over several of Nordland’s articles from late last year, particularly one from the Kurdish-majority city of Diyarbakir, a stronghold for the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
“The Turkish government’s action is an affront to freedom of the press and an effort to keep the world from having access to independent reporting from Turkey,” Times executive editor Dean Baquet said in the paper.
“Rod is a veteran correspondent who has done groundbreaking journalism from around the world. There was no justification for today’s action. The Times remains committed to covering Turkey fairly, accurately and fully,” he said.
In December, Turkey detained a staff journalist for The Wall Street Journal, Dion Nissenbaum, for almost three days without allowing him access to a lawyer.
There has been growing international alarm about the extent of Turkey’s crackdown on journalists and others under the state of emergency imposed after the coup. Critics say it has been used to target President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s opponents.
According to the independent journalism website P24, at least 90 journalists have been detained during the state of emergency.
Erdogan has been accused of authoritarian behavior and increased attempts to muzzle opposition media since his 2014 election as president.

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