In Turkey, police forces deployed pepper spray, rubber bullets and water cannons on student protesters who gathered in Istanbul Thursday, defying a ban on demonstrations. Massive protests have continued in Turkey for over a week, following the jailing of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, seen as the biggest rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan ahead of elections in 2028. Over 1,900 protesters have been arrested since last week.
Meanwhile, the Turkish government is escalating its crackdown on journalists, imposing a 10-day broadcast ban on an opposition TV channel.

Ali Mahir Başarır: “Very harsh penalties have been issued to silence the opposition and threaten those who broadcast freely. Unfortunately, RTUK and this government is not only blacking out channels, it is also blacking out universities, young people and their hopes.”

Turkey on Thursday deported a BBC reporter amid Erdoğan’s crackdown on the press. Mark Lowen was taken from his Istanbul hotel on Wednesday and detained for 17 hours before being removed from Turkey.