The bio said Aslan has worked as a registered nurse in several healthcare settings including as a drug and alcohol nurse at St Vincent’s Hospital in Melbourne for six years.
It described her as a single mother of two daughters who is passionate about human and women’s rights, community volunteering and advocating for minorities.
The Australian government describes the Kurdish nationalist group as an “ideologically motivated violent extremist organisation”.
“The Kurdistan Workers’ Party’s nationalist ideology encompasses the rights of Kurds to maintain their Kurdish ethnic identity,” the Australian government’s description of the group reads.
“Further to its nationalist objectives, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party aims to monopolise Kurdish political power, including by attacking the interests of rival political parties.
“However, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party primarily conducts attacks against the Turkish government and security forces.”
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said in a statement that it was “providing consular assistance to an Australian woman detained in Türkiye”, but did not provide further details.
“Owing to our privacy obligations we are unable to provide further comment,” the spokesman said.
An Australian man has previously been charged with being a member of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party.
In May 2019, the NSW Supreme Court sentenced Renas Lelikan, who had pleaded guilty, to a three-year community corrections order for being a member of the group from April 2011 and August 2013.
More to come.
Source Agencies
