Turkey bans foreigners who criticize President Erdogan

The Turkish government, headed by autocratic leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has banned more than 100,000 foreigners from 150 countries, including journalists and academics, simply for expressing critical views of the government. This is a violation of the most fundamental principle of democracy – freedom of speech.

It is also a violation of Turkey's membership criteria for NATO and the Council of Europe, which are based on "shared values of democracy, human rights and the rule of law." However, neither NATO nor the Council of Europe has criticized Turkey for its numerous and ongoing violations of their high principles. This information was published by panorama.am.

Even when the European Court of Human Rights, which is part of the Council of Europe, decides that Turkey is guilty of violating such rights, the Turkish government simply ignores the Court's decision and refuses to pay the financial penalties imposed, although its verdict is binding on all members of the organization.

Abdullah Bozkurt, a Turkish investigative journalist based in Sweden, exposed the Turkish ban in a Nordic Monitor article titled "Turkey's secret blacklist targets foreign critics, bans them from entering and deports them".

The Turkish government's secret database marks banned foreigners with a two-digit G code that describes the specific reasons for restricting their entry into the country.

"The restrictive code G-87 is probably the most commonly used designation for foreigners. It indicates that the person labeled with this code is considered a threat to general public safety. The alleged evidence that justifies this classification often comes from intelligence sources or an assessment made by a risk team responsible for screening incoming passengers at airports or border crossings," Bozkurt said.

Unsuspecting foreigners learn of their ban only upon arrival at a Turkish airport. Some are denied entry, while others are arrested. The reason for the entry ban can be as innocent as posting or liking a message on social media. The restrictive measures are not only a violation of the rights of these people but also of the Turkish constitution, as no law has been passed to authorize such bans.

Information about foreigners is collected either by the General Directorate of Security (Emniyet) and the National Intelligence Organization (MIT) or by diplomats in Turkish embassies abroad who monitor those who express criticism of the Erdogan government. To make matters worse, some of these foreigners are labeled terrorists without any evidence, simply for criticizing Turkey.

Sometimes, the Turkish government detains completely innocent foreign visitors to extort political favors or to exchange prisoners from another country.

The huge list of people on the Turkish government's blacklist has become a lucrative business for some law firms that specialize in protecting the rights of people who are banned from entering the country. Sometimes, even after courts have ordered the government to remove a person's name from the blacklist, the Turkish government has refused to comply, claiming that its evidence cannot be presented in court because it is considered a state secret.

Bozkurt emphasizes that the blacklist serves as a tool for the Erdogan government to continue its campaign of intimidation against critics, including foreign journalists, activists, and human rights defenders.

"By denying entry or forcing sudden deportation, the government is using the blacklist to restrict the journalistic activities of foreign journalists on the ground. Over the past decade, this practice has affected many foreign journalists who have faced the consequences of having their names on the list. It seems that the blacklist will continue to be maintained by the repressive rule of the Erdogan government for the foreseeable future," the investigative journalist concludes.

The simple solution to this problem is for foreigners not to travel to Turkey, thus protecting themselves from persecution, deportation, or arrest. Refusing to travel to Turkey would deal a serious blow to the country, as millions of tourists visit Turkey every year, injecting tens of billions of dollars into the bankrupt Turkish economy.

Earlier, TravelWise wrote that the Turkish government announced the extension of the visa-free regime for Kyrgyz citizens for up to six months.