Çavuşoğlu, who spent the night in custody before being put on a return flight, told the daily Bugün Kıbrıs that no reason was given for the ban. “There is no justification. They just said ‘he comes from Cyprus.’ They told me ‘we don’t know’ when I asked who ordered this. The decision probably came through the embassy,” he said. He linked the restriction to the 2020 Turkish Cypriot presidential election, when a list of individuals deemed hostile to Ankara’s interests was allegedly compiled. “The records created back then are still being applied today under the N82 code,” he added.
The N82 code, which requires pre-clearance from a Turkish embassy for entry, has been used systematically against Turkish Cypriots known for advocating a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation and criticizing the policies of Turkey’s ruling AKP. Economist Mertkan Hamit, journalist Başaran Düzgün of Havadis, author Dr. Ahmet Cavit An, and former presidential communications coordinator Ali Bizden are among those previously turned away at Turkish airports. Left Movement Secretary-General Abdullah Korkmazhan was blocked at Ankara’s Esenboğa Airport on “national security” grounds, while many others have been intimidated into avoiding travel through Turkey altogether.
Rights groups and opposition parties have repeatedly denounced the practice as a violation of human rights, press freedom, and the European Convention on Human Rights. Despite formal requests, Turkey’s embassy in northern Nicosia has not responded to individuals seeking clarification.
It should be noted that the former Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has previously defended the bans, stating that “decisions about foreigners entering the country are within the sovereign powers of each state.”