Turkey wants to expel a Dutch journalist for travelling to an area in the far south east of the country described in the Dutch media as a ‘forbidden area’.

Fréderike Geerdink, who was aquitted of writing propaganda for Kurdish militants by a Turkish court in April, has been sent to a deportation centre pending an appeal against the expulsion, news agency ANP says.

She was arrested in the Hakkiri province on Saturday, which is a predominantly Kurdish area. However, officials told news agency Reuters she had been detained for her own safety.

‘Frederike has not been arrested for journalism. She was in a security zone where there was fighting. Because of that, we could not guarantee her safety, so she has been detained and investigations are continuing,’ the official was quoted as saying.

Geerdink works for the Parool and Groen Amsterdammer. She lives in Turkey and has written extensively about Kurdish issues.

Last week, a Turkish court freed two British Vice News journalists who had been arrested in southeastern Turkey on suspicion of having links to a terrorist organisation, Reuters said.