Aysel Tuğluk has been detained in her flat in Istanbul. The Kurdish politician and former member of parliament suffers from severe dementia and was released from prison a year ago due to her incapacity.
Former member of parliament Aysel Tuğluk was taken into custody at her home in Istanbul on Wednesday in connection with an investigation from 2012.
Aysel Tuğluk was released from prison a year ago due to severe dementia. The Kurdish politician and lawyer was arrested at the end of 2016 and convicted in several trials. In February 2020, the Turkish Court of Appeal confirmed Aysel Tuğluk's sentence of ten years in prison, the highest to date. She was convicted of "leading a terrorist organisation" due to her role as co-chair of the Democratic Society Congress (DTK). In October 2021, she was sentenced to twenty months in prison for alleged terror propaganda in 2012 and 2013. She faces an aggravated life sentence in the so-called Kobanê trial in Ankara.
In prison, Aysel Tuğluk became so seriously ill with dementia that she was no longer able to look after herself. Women's organisations led a months-long campaign for her release. She was released from prison in October 2022 and her sentence was later suspended due to her incapacity.
