Natalie McGarry said her experience showed the need for intervention in the conflict between Kurdish separatists and Turkish forces

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

A Scottish MP has spoken of her “terrifying experience” of being detained by security forces in Turkey for using her mobile phone.



Natalie McGarry says she was shoved repeatedly by a security officer and taken to a shack “filled with guns” during a tank bombardment on Kurds in the city of Diyarbakir in south-eastern Turkey.

The Glasgow East MP was held for about two hours while visiting the Kurdish area of Sur on Thursday, as part of a British delegation highlighting the conflict between Kurdish separatists and Turkish government forces.



The delegation had called for the British government to intervene to stop Kurdish civilians being attacked in Sur and filmed the armed forces in action.

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McGarry was near a security checkpoint when she began using her mobile phone to “record the sound of bombs” falling on Sur.

After returning to Britain, McGarry used Twitter to describe her experience.

Natalie McGarry (@NatalieMcGarry) I was forcibly removed from the street by a man who pushed me repeatedly and would've hit me but for intervention of younger colleagues.





She added: “I was denied access to an interpreter and taken into a shack behind the demarcation line which was filled with guns.”

She said she was “so relieved” when her interpreter was allowed to speak to her after 45 minutes of questioning.

“I wasn’t alone w/ no understanding of language amidst tank fire,” she wrote.

“Some of the Turkish police/forces were very young and behaved admirably, but were scared and shouldn’t be in the position they are in.

“My absolute admiration to fellow delegates who stayed to support me & were increasingly worried by the shouting & swearing.

“Thank you also to the British Embassy who acted so swiftly to help secure my release. And everyone locally who was contacted & put pressure.

“Thanks also to the Kurdish population of Sur who came to welcome me out and hugged me when I cried. And they brought me chai and thanks.”

McGarry said her detention demonstrated why Britain and other Nato countries should intervene.

Natalie McGarry (@NatalieMcGarry) I cannot imagine if life was a constant struggle of fear like that everyday which is why Turkey's NATO partners need to demand it stop.





McGarry was a high-profile SNP MP but resigned the whip six months after her election after police began investigating £30,000 of missing donations from Women for Independence, a group she founded.

She denies any wrongdoing.

In January, McGarry became embroiled in a row with Harry Potter author JK Rowling, who threatened to sue her for defamation over claims the author had supported abusive tweets to McGarry and other pro-independence politicians.