What changed

B100134/2026

P10_TA(2026)0047

European Parliament resolution on targetedTargeted expulsions of foreign journalists and foreign Christians in Türkiye under national security pretexts

(2029/2613(RSP))

PE782.934

European Parliament resolution of 12 February 2026 on the targeted expulsions of foreign journalists and foreign Christians in Türkiye under national security pretexts (2026/2613(RSP))

The European Parliament,

– having regard to itsRules previous150(5) resolutionsand on136(4) Türkiye,of its Rules of Procedure,

having regard to Rule 150 of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas the Commission’s Türkiye 2025 Report states that ‘the environment for media freedom and media pluralism is constrained’; whereas concerns have arisen over foreign journalists being detained and deported;

A. whereas Iranian journalist and human rights advocate Kaveh Taheri, living in exile in Türkiye and recognised as a refugee by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, was detained on 26 January 2026 in Sakarya while travelling to Istanbul for a visa appointment; whereas his detention is linked to deportation proceedings, raising concerns about his potential return to Iran and risk of political persecution; whereas a deportation order was issued on 28 January 2026 on “national security” grounds, a rationale repeatedly used without meaningful disclosure of evidence;

B. whereas, in recent years, at least 300 foreign Christian pastors, missionaries and their family members have been deported from Türkiye and denied re-entry through the application of the ‘N-82’ and ‘G-87’ administrative measures designating them as national security threats without evidence, trial or effective means of appeal;

B. whereas, since 2019, more than 300 foreign Christian workers and their family members, including long-term residents, have been expelled from Türkiye following the assignment of “security codes” such as N-82 and G-87 by the Ministry of Interior, resulting in re-entry bans and designation as national security threats without individualized public reasoning; whereas between 2024 and 2025 at least 35 additional such codes were reportedly issued, leading to loss of pastoral leadership in numerous congregations and serious disruption to religious life across the country;

C. whereas Kaveh Taheri, an Iranian independent freelance journalist recognised as a refugee by the UNHCR, was detained on 26 January 2026 and is facing deportation and political persecution in Iran; whereas journalist Nujan Mala Hassan was shot and injured by Turkish border guards on 20 January 2026 while reporting on protests; whereas other journalists have already been deported, including BBC correspondent Mark Lowen, and others have been arrested and threatened with deportation, such as French journalist Raphaël Boukandoura;

C. whereas the detention and deportation proceedings initiated against Kaveh Taheri and expulsions imposed on Christian workers in Türkiye point to a practice of using immigration and national security to breach human rights protected under international human rights law and the European Convention on Human Rights to which Türkiye is a party;

D. whereas Christians are reported to be the most persecuted religious group globally; whereas failure to acknowledge and address this reality undermines the credibility of international efforts to protect freedom of religion or belief;

D. whereas the case of Kenneth Arthur Wiest v. Türkiye, currently pending before the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) could in 2026 become a landmark judgment; whereas on 2 February 2026 the ECtHR communicated a joint application comprising twenty cases, David Kim Wilson and Pamela Lynn Wilson v. Türkiye;

E. whereas several related cases are pending before the ECtHR, including Wiest v Türkiye;

E. whereas Christians are the most persecuted religious group globally, whereas tackling this issue must be central to EU foreign policy;

F. whereas the conversion of Hagia Sophia into a mosque, the destruction of Christian churches, and sustained pressure on Christian communities, illustrate a broader and systematic pattern of restrictions on fundamental freedoms, including freedom of expression and freedom of religion;

1. Calls on the Government of Türkiye to immediately halt deportation proceedings against Kaveh Taheri and ensure his release in full respect with international human rights standards;

1. Strongly condemns the targeted expulsions of foreign journalists and foreign Christians carried out under unsubstantiated national-security pretexts and without due process; deplores the lack of access to evidence and meaningful judicial review;

2. Calls on the Turkish authorities to cease the use of security-based restriction codes to target foreign journalists, Christian religious workers and other foreign nationals without transparent, individualized and judicially reviewable justification;

2. Manifests its unwavering support for Christians and affirms that freedom of religion or belief, including the right to practice, change or manifest one’s religion individually or in community with others, must be fully protected in accordance with international human rights law and upheld without discrimination or interference by state authorities;

3. Call on the Commission to raise the expulsion of foreign Christians and journalists in their dialogue with Turkish government officials, demanding full compliance with European Court of Human Rights rulings on freedom of religion and belief;

3. Considers that these targeted expulsions take place in a broader context of democratic backsliding, erosion of judicial independence, criminalisation of dissent and attacks on civil society;

4. Manifests its unwavering support for Christians everywhere and affirms that freedom of religion or belief, including the right to practice, change or manifest one’s religion individually or in community with others, must be fully protected in accordance with international human rights law and upheld without discrimination or interference by state authorities;

4. Calls on Türkiye to immediately cease all forms of judicial and administrative harassment of foreign journalists, often under national security pretexts; expresses its deep indignation at reported cases of arbitrary arrest and detention; calls on Türkiye to immediately halt deportation proceedings against Kaveh Taheri and all other foreign journalists; demands the suspension of all legal proceedings against Swedish journalist Joakim Medin and all journalists convicted for doing their job;

5. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and the Government and Parliament of Türkiye;

5. Shares the assessment of the Türkiye 2025 Report regarding the restrictive environment for journalists and critical voices;

6. Expresses its solidarity with Turkish journalists who continue to report independently despite the numerous abuses; calls on the Commission to increase support for independent media;

7. Urges Türkiye to immediately cease the use of administrative security codes N-82 and G-87, to provide individual reasoned decisions subject to independent judicial review, and to allow those expelled arbitrarily to return;

8. Calls on the VP/HR and the Commission to raise these concerns systematically in political dialogue with Türkiye and to consider targeted measures should these abuses persist;

9. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the VP/HR, the Member States, and the Government and Parliament of Türkiye.