The Turkish intelligence service claims to have arrested a leading figure of the PKK operating in Finland. reached the woman’s daughter, who considers the allegations baseless.
16:13•Updated 16:37
According to the Turkish media, the Turkish intelligence service has arrested a Finnish citizen who Turkey believes is leading the branch of the Kurdish PKK organization in Finland.
reached the woman’s adult daughter living in Finland, who is shocked by the incident.
– I am very worried about my mother, says the daughter.
According to the daughter, her mother had traveled to Turkey in early August and was due to return last week. When the mother was not on the return flight, the daughter became worried.
He tried to call his mother, but could not get through. The reason was that the Turkish intelligence service MIT had arrested the mother at Istanbul airport.
On Wednesday, the daughter saw the Turkish media headlines, according to which the authorities had caught “the Finnish leader of the terrorist organization PKK” at the airport. According to the Turkish media, the woman has, among other things, been involved in fundraising for the organization.
The PKK is the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, which aims to establish Kurdish self-government. The PKK has been in an armed conflict against the Turkish regime since the 80s. Turkey, the European Union and the United States define the PKK as a terrorist organization.
The daughter considers the claims about her mother to be absurd.
– There is no evidence, and there has been no trial, but my mother has been labeled a terrorist. It is especially sad that the Finnish media is now repeating these claims without criticism.
“Mother went to Turkey on vacation”
According to the daughter, the mother’s trip to Turkey was a completely normal vacation trip, which the mother has made to Turkey before. The family is Iranian Kurds.
– If my mother had really done what Turkey claims, why the hell would she travel to Turkey? It is well known how Turkey treats dissidents.
Turkish prisons hold a large number of prisoners imprisoned for political reasons. Senior researcher at the Foreign Policy Institute Toni Alaranta has described to that Turkey might define, for example, waving flags at a demonstration as terrorism.
The Turkish media has presented a picture of a woman imprisoned in Turkey, where she is sitting in a uniform in a room with a picture of the founder of the PKK on the wall of Abdullah Öcalan picture. The source of the image has not been mentioned in the media.
The daughter does not know the origin of the photo, nor does she know when it was taken.
According to the daughter, her mother has participated in demonstrations in Finland, like many Kurds.
– It has been about peaceful demonstrations, the daughter says.
The Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs is aware of the case and the Finnish Embassy is handling the matter.
– I hope that the Finnish authorities can get my mother delivered back here. I’m afraid he won’t get fair treatment in Turkey.
Story edited 16:35: corrected the interviewee’s quote regarding his mother’s activities in Finland and traveling to Turkey. Also modified the intertitle.