Aussie woman Lenna Aslan accused of being involved in terror group
A Melbourne single mum whose loved ones say was visiting family in Turkey has been accused of allegedly being “actively involved” in a terror group.
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A Melbourne single mum and community health educator whose loved ones say was visiting family in Turkey was allegedly “actively involved” in a terror group.
Lenna Aslan, of Melbourne, who also goes by the first name Çiğdem, has been arrested at Istanbul airport over alleged ties to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, otherwise known as the PKK.
The PKK has been described as a terrorist organisation by many countries including Australia, the US and the UK. Since the 1970s, PKK has been fighting for an independent Kurdish state.
The Turkish government controlled Anadolu news agency reports Ms Aslan allegedly had contact with “high level” PKK members and was “actively involved in the Australian structure of the terrorist organisation.”
Ms Aslan was arrested on Saturday in a joint operation by Türkiye’s National Intelligence Organisation and Istanbul’s Police’s Counterterrorism Unit as she prepared to board a flight from Istanbul to Australia.
The Anadolu article includes a grainy photograph which apparently depicts Ms Aslan standing near both a PKK flag and a portrait of the group’s leader Abdullah Ocalan who is behind bars.
Turkey’s English language Daily Sabah newspaper reports that local police allege Ms Aslan belongs to a “PKK-linked association in Australia and was active in events serving as a mouthpiece of the terrorist group.”
The Daily Sabah said Ms Aslan allegedly participated in a protest against a Turkish operation against the PKK.
Ms Aslan’s arrest has outraged the Turkish community in Melbourne who say she has no links to the PKK and her arrest was politically motivated.
Mahmut Kahraman, the co-president of the Kurdish Democratic Community Centre of Victoria, told ABC News Ms Aslan was one of his closest friends.
“One hundred per cent lie, nothing is true,” Mr Kahraman said of the allegations made by the Turkish government.
“It’s definitely 100 per cent (politically) motivated.
“She (is) a single mum, (she’s) a hardworking woman and she raised almost two daughters alone and she’s a multicultural health worker.
“(She’s) concerned about human rights … whatever (the) Turkish government (is) saying (is) totally false.
“She doesn’t have any connection with Kurdistan Workers’ Party or any other organisations.”
Mr Kahraman’s sentiments were echoed by many who know Ms Aslan including Councillor Sue Bolton of Melbourne’s Merri-bek local government.
Cr Bolton, who has personally known Ms Aslan for a decade, told the Herald Sun Ms Aslan was an oppressed member of the Kurdish community who championed human rights.
“I felt personally, not just as a political injustice, I felt really gutted and worried about her safety and her health,” Cr Bolton said.
“She is someone who went back to Turkey for family reasons … she had a right to feel safe travelling back to Turkey to visit family.
“She’s a totally good person and she should not be jailed and threatened or charged with terrorism offences, this is absolutely crazy.”
Türkiye and the PKK have clashed for more than 30 years over the group’s bid to establish an independent Kurdish state with tens of thousands of people killed.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade told this masthead it was “providing consular assistance to an Australian woman detained in Türkiye. Owing to our privacy obligations we are unable to provide further comment.”
Ms Aslan’s LinkedIn profile says she is open to work and describes herself as a “human rights activist, migrant, bilingual community health educator, passionate about community works.”
She has been working as a bilingual community health educator for the Multicultural Centre for Women’s Health in Melbourne for the past two and a half years.
Ms Aslan has previously spoken on behalf of the Kurdistan Women’s League of Victoria.
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Originally published as Aussie woman Lenna Aslan accused of being involved in terror group