An Australian woman has been detained by Turkish authorities on terror charges for allegedly supporting a Kurdish nationalist group.
Turkish media reports Cigdem Aslan, also known as Lenna Aslan, was arrested at Istanbul Airport last week while preparing to board a flight to Melbourne.
She was reportedly detained on suspicion of participating in activities for the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, also known as the PKK, in Australia.
The PKK was founded in the 1970s with the goal of creating an independent Kurdish state, and is listed as a terrorist organisation by both Türkiye and Australia.
The Australian government describes the PKK as “an ideologically motivated violent extremist organisation”.
Cigdem Aslan was detained while preparing to board a flight to Melbourne last week. Credit: LinkedIn/Cigdem Aslan
It has been responsible for the deaths of more than 40,000 people, according to the Turkish government.
Aslan had been under surveillance by Türkiye’s National Intelligence Organization for some time before she was detained, Turkish media reported.
The Multicultural Centre for Women’s Health in Melbourne lists her as a bilingual health educator and describes her on its website as a single mother of two daughters who is passionate about “human and women’s rights, community volunteering and advocating for minorities”.
On her LinkedIn profile, Aslan says she is a “human rights activist” and “passionate about community works”.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade told SBS News in a statement that it was “providing consular assistance to an Australian woman detained in Türkiye”, but didn’t provide further details.