Australian woman Cigdem Aslan arrested in Türkiye on suspicion of supporting PKK Kurdish separatist group

Turkish authorities have arrested an Australian woman on terrorism charges for supporting a Kurdish separatist group.

Turkish media said Cigdem Aslan, whose Australian passport is in the name of Lenna Aslan, was arrested last week at Istanbul Airport before she could travel to Melbourne.

The 51-year-old reportedly appeared before a judge and was detained on suspicion of conducting activities for the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, a banned terrorist organisation in both Türkiye and Australia.

Turkish media said Ms Aslan co-chaired a Kurdish organisation linked to the PKK and participated in Australian protests against Turkish raids on Kurdish forces in Iraq.

The PKK, a Kurdish nationalist group, has fought a long-running insurgency against Türkiye in which an estimated 40,000 people have been killed.

Türkiye has a hardline policy against support for Kurdish groups, including against Kurdish advocates overseas.

Ms Aslan is listed as a bilingual health educator by the Multicultural Centre for Women’s Health in Melbourne.

Its website says she is a single mother with two daughters who is passionate about “human and women’s rights, community volunteering and advocating for minorities”.

Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade told the ABC it was “providing consular assistance to an Australian woman detained in Türkiye” but did not give any further details.

Source » abc.net.au