Belgian journalist Chris Den Hond has been denied entry to Turkey due to his participation in a celebration marking the liberation of the Syrian Kurdish town of Kobani from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in 2015, Turkish Minute reported on Monday.
Den Hond, a Belgian journalist and documentary filmmaker residing in France, was detained upon arrival at İstanbul Airport on Sunday and later sent back to Paris.
In a video statement, Den Hond said police officers told him his name was on a blacklist and that he was banned from entering Turkey. He said authorities did not present him with any official documents regarding the ban.
Condemning the decision, Den Hond said, “I was denied entry to Turkey because I celebrated the liberation of Kobane from ISIS at a time when Turkey was aiding ISIS.”
According to Bianet, the journalist had traveled to Turkey to cover Nevruz, a festival traditionally marked by Kurds in the second half of March as the first day of spring.
Den Hond’s work primarily focuses on Middle Eastern affairs, including issues concerning the Kurds and Palestine. He is also among the editors of the French magazine Orient XXI.
A similar incident occurred in November when Canadian journalist Neil Hauer, who had arrived in Turkey from Armenia, was sent back out of the country from İstanbul’s Sabiha Gökçen Airport. Police cited Hauer’s coverage of the Karabakh war between Azerbaijan and Armenia, according to the journalist.
