On January 10, Turkish media published photographs of Semra Guzel, 38, with a Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) fighter. She has been accused of being a member of the group. The lawmaker confirmed the photographs, saying she and the fighter were college colleagues and later got engaged, adding that the pictures were taken during the short-lived peace process between the PKK and Turkey in 2013.
Guzel won a seat on the ticket of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) in the 2018 parliamentary elections in Diyarbakir (Amed) province. On March 1, the parliament lifted her immunity. On March 24, a Turkish court issued an arrest warrant for her for her alleged PKK membership. Guzel was able to go into hiding, with some believing that she had left the country. However, she was arrested in Istanbul in September.
The Turkish parliament convened on Thursday to decide about the fate of the jailed lawmaker’s membership. With a majority vote, Guzel’s membership was revoked, reported state media.
PKK is a Kurdish armed group struggling for the increased rights of Kurds in Turkey. Ankara considers it a terrorist organization.
