Ans Boersma: Timeline of Deportation
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January 16, 2019: Johanna Cornelia Boersma’s house was raided by the Turkish police. The journalist is the economy editor at Het Financieele Dagblad. She was arrested and detained for her alleged affiliation with a terrorist organization.
January 17, 2019: Journalist Ans Boersma was subsequently deported after her detention. Turkish officials announced that the journalists had been deported that she allegedly ‘linked the terrorist organization’. They acknowledged that the Dutch intelligence had shared the information of her possible link to a terrorist group with the Turkish authorities. https://www.inkl.com/news/turkey-deports-dutch-journalist-ans-boersma-over-alleged-links-to-syrian-terror-group
January 18, 2019: Turkish authorities claimed that the Dutch authorities requested Boersma’s extradition. Dutch authorities denied this claim while stating that Boersma was not a "terrorist suspect". Fahrettin Altun, Presidential Communications Director in Turkey, confirmed that only Dutch authorities could clarify why Boersma was linked to terrorism and, subsequently, deported.
January 19, 2019: Het Financieel Dagblad (FD) newspaper fired Ans Boersma for being not honest and forthright throughout her post in Turkey. Het Financieel Dagblad (FD) newspaper terminated her employment, claiming the journalist was not truthful and forthcoming with them. Independent journalist Ans Boersma started working for the Dutch daily newspaper Het Financieele Dagblad (FD) in 2017. FD said that Boersma couldn’t believe that her Syrian ex-boyfriend was the reason behind her deportation. The chief editor of FD, Jan Bonjer, called her deportation a “blatant violation of press freedom.”
February 1, 2019: Journalist Ans Boersma’s representative Media and Legal Studies (MLSE) lawyers filed a lawsuit to annul the deportation from Turkey. https://twitter.com/dokuz8haber/status/1091403306981879811
March 5, 2019: Another article targeted Ans Boersma with the title “The Jihadist Who Loved Me: Christian Journalist In Hot Water Over Terrorism-Linked Ex-Boyfriend”. The article states that Boersma was unlikely to live down her infamy as the journalist who dated a jihadi. The article identified Boersma as a Christian, linking her faith to her empathy for Middle Eastern refugees.
April 1, 2019: Ans Boersma said that she found a way to live peacefully through this time. In Turkey, she faced many challenges due to the fictitious allegations of her links to terrorist organizations. She mentioned that it is still hard to understand why the Dutch authorities needed to take such drastic measures by having her deported from Turkey.
Tom de Boer, Ans’ lawyer, expressed his regrets for how his client had to cut several professional ties after her deportation. He said that her case was widely misreported without a proper investigation.
September 23, 2019: The first hearing of Ans Boersma’s wrongful deportation case took place at The Istanbul First Administrative Court. She was unable to attend the hearing for her case because she was banned from travelling to Turkey for six years. Documents submitted in her defense show that she is not the subject of any terrorism-related investigation in Turkey. The court was expected to return with a verdict within three months. However, the court rejected her request.
June 5, 2020: Boersma, was still working as a journalist in the Netherlands and during this time published an article for The Guardian. She said it was still very challenging to offer her opinion freely. Also it was unlikely for her to return to Turkey anytime soon because of various lawsuits against her. Boersma is confused why Dutch authorities felt it necessary to ask Turkey for her deportation. She was committed to resolve the matter as the court could not find any wrongdoing on her behalf. Ans’s lawyer was satisfied with the proceedings of the Public Prosecution Service. According to him, it was unnecessary to put Boersma in such a vulnerable position in Turkey. The journalist could have easily been questioned in the Netherlands as she returns to the country every three months. Boersma was reassured that NVJ was vigilantly following the safety of journalists abroad. She emphasised that it is crucial to stay alert, especially in countries where press freedom is under attack.
May 18, 2021: In a finalized settlement, the Dutch state will pay damages to journalist and CFWIJ fellow Ans Boersma, in order to avoid lengthy legal proceedings. Ans has long awaited a response from the state prosecution, and her lawyer Tom de Boer stated there was no further contact.
