Australian woman detained in Turkey over alleged links to Kurdish insurgents

An Australian women was arrested in Turkey over her alleged links to a Kurdish militant group in a joint operation by anti-terrorist police and intelligence officers, Turkish media said.

Cigdem Aslan, 51, was detained at Istanbul airport after an investigation found she was “actively involved in the Australian structure of the terrorist organization,” according to a report by the state-run Anadolu news agency.

Anadolu, citing unnamed security sources, did not specify the nature of her alleged involvement with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK. She was brought before a court and sent to prison awaiting trial.

The PKK has fought an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984. The conflict has led to tens of thousands of deaths and the group is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States, the European Union and Australia.

The Anadolu report said she was arrested as she waited to board a plane for Australia and had been followed by Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization, or MIT. It did not specify when she was initially detained. MDT/AP