Turkey Blocks Journalist's Entry, Arriving from Yerevan: Details

Turkey has banned Canadian journalist Neil Hauer from entering the country. The journalist announced this on his X page, stating that he had traveled to Turkey from Yerevan for tourism purposes but was detained and informed that he is on a “blacklist.”

Hauer notes that after 16 hours, he was sent back to Armenia from Istanbul Airport. “I have committed no offense,” wrote the journalist, adding that he intends to appeal this entry ban.

He linked this action by Turkey to his journalistic work, not ruling out that it may have been carried out at the request of Baku. “I rarely report on Turkey; I do not address Kurdish or Gülen issues because foreign journalists have problems there. I suspect that this ban was at Azerbaijan's request or at least involved them. I have extensively covered Azerbaijan's actions in Nagorno-Karabakh and the ethnic cleansing carried out by Aliyev’s regime,” he wrote.

Official Ankara and Baku have not responded to the journalist’s statements. Meanwhile, Azerbaijani media report that “Hauer is known for his one-sided publications regarding the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War. His materials are generally filled with accusations directed at Azerbaijan while ignoring the occupation policies of the Armenian side.”