A former lawmaker of pro-Kurdish party HDP fled Turkey and illegally cross into Greece. 44-year-old Leyla Birlik, a former Sirnak deputy with the Kurdish party HDP at the Turkish Parliament, sought political asylum fearing for her life.
Turkey has banned her from traveling abroad after she was brought to trial for allegedly making propaganda in favor of a terror organization, Turkish media report.
Leyla Birlik was kept under arrest in Turkey between November 2016 and January 2017 on charges of making propaganda for a terrorist organization. She was then released pending trial with a ban on international travel.
She was reportedly given a 21-month prison sentence for allegedly insulting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in January this year.
Previous to her escape to Greece she had apparently contacted Kurds living in the country. They were waiting for her to cross the Evros river, the natural border bewteen the two neighboring countries.
She surrounded to police in Tychero village on Wednesday.
She was taken to police station in Alexandroupoli where she submitted an application for political asylum.
