Travel warning for European tourists to Turkey

Tuesday, October 30, 2018

Germany’s Foreign Office issues a new travel advice to European tourists visiting Turkey. The European tourists may face imprisonment for ‘liking’ the wrong posts online.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has imprisoned hundreds of rebels as part of a nationwide crackdown on dissent. In some cases, merely ‘liking’ another’s post expressing dissent also lead to imprisonment.

Some other actions that can lead to many years’ of imprisonment are  ‘Non-public comments on social media can be forwarded to Turkish authorities via denunciations, a conviction for ‘insulting the president’ or ‘spreading terrorist propaganda’.

Previously, Turkish authorities have arrested people who criticised a military operation in Syria on social media and those who posted comments about the economy ‘in a provocative way’.

Turkish authorities believe Khashoggi, a Washington Post writer and critic of the Saudi royal family, was murdered and dismembered inside the country’s consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2. Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister Adel al-Jubeir said on Saturday that those behind the killing of Khashoggi would be prosecuted in the kingdom and that the investigation would take time.

The U.S. defense secretary Jim Mattis said that the killing of Khashoggi undermined Middle Eastern stability and that additional measures will be taken against those responsible.

« Back to Page

• ECTAA and GNTO celebrate year of sustainable tourism success

• Sabah Tourism Board rebrands to ‘Feel Sabah, North Borneo’

• Oman sees surge in GCC tourists, hotel occupancy up

• Barcelona controls large groups with stricter rules to protect local residents

• European countries to restrict unvaccinated travellers