ANKARA (Sputnik) – The decision to ban Sputnik-Turkey bureau chief Tural Kerimov’s entry into Turkey was made by Turkey’s security organs, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmuş said Wednesday.
“The decision on Russia’s Sputnik agency was made by security organs. [Kerimov] is currently not in Turkey,” Kurtulmuş told journalists in Ankara.
Tural Kerimov arrived in Istanbul on Wednesday but was stopped by a border control officer who said the journalist was flagged as persona non grata by the Turkish authorities. The Turkish officer told the Russian diplomat that the reason for barring the Sputnik Turkey editor-in-chief from entering was not specified.
This comes a week after Turkish authorities shut down the agency’s Turkish-language website citing "administrative measures." The shutdown is the most recent episode of the government’s crackdown on media and free speech in the country following the imprisonment of 14 local journalists.
