A Turkish court has ordered the pre-trial jailing of a pro-Kurdish member of parliament on a terrorism charge, Istanbul police and her lawyer said, while her party called the detention illegitimate and unethical.
Semra Guzel, a member of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), had her parliamentary immunity lifted in March after photos of her from several years ago with a militant from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) circulated on Turkish media. An arrest warrant was subsequently issued on a charge of membership in a terrorist organization.
Guzel was detained in Istanbul on Friday and a court ruled late on Saturday to jail her pending trial, Istanbul police said, in line with a prosecutor's request.
Veysi Eski, a lawyer for Guzel, said the charge against Guzel was unfounded and called it a continuation of what he said were "political genocide operations" against the HDP.