The Turkish-born Bundestag member Gökay Akbulut says she was temporarily arrested for alleged "terror propaganda" on social media in 2019.

The German lawmaker Gökay Akbulut says she was arrested while visiting Turkey, apparently on allegations of spreading terrorist propaganda.

Akbulut was detained under an arrest warrant at Antalya airport, despite showing a diplomatic passport.

What we know about the arrest

The politician, from the far-left Die Linke (The Left) party, said she had only found out that there was an arrest warrant against her when she arrived at the airport.

Akbulut has repeatedly criticized the Turkish government. She is campaigning for Germany to lift a ban on the activities of the Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK), which is classed as a terrorist organization both in the European Union and Turkey.

The German Foreign Office said it had been aware of the arrest, which took place on August 3. Both the German embassy in Ankara and the consulate in Antalya had been in close contact with the lawmaker.

"The federal government intervened on her behalf at a high level, vigorously and through various channels" to obtain Akbulut's immediate release, the Foreign Office said.

Akbulut said the arrest had been linked to social media posts from 2019, but that the case was dropped before she was even questioned. 

What the politician said

Akbulut thanked officials for their intervention, adding that the incident showed there was no separation of powers in Turkey. 

She cut her visit to relatives short but promised she would not be silenced by the arrest.