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Russian Diplomat Visits Sputnik Turkey Chief Stranded at Istanbul Airport

Sputnik — April 20, 2016

An officer with the Russian Consulate in Turkey on Wednesday met with the chief editor of Sputnik News Agency’s Turkish bureau, Tural Kerimov, who has been stranded at the Istanbul airport since morning after he was denied entry.

Kerimov, who was also stripped of his accreditation and residence permit in Turkey, is currently at the Ataturk International Airport awaiting deportation.

“I met Tural Kerimov at the airport and talked to him in the presence of a police officer,” the Russian diplomat told RIA Novosti.

Tural Kerimov arrived to 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.

Read more:

Turkey Refuses to Give Reason for Banning Sputnik Bureau Chief’s Entry

April 20, 2016 - Posted by | Full Spectrum Dominance |

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