Judges in the city of Diyarbakir ruled that Aysel Tugluk of the Democratic Society Party (DTP) violated the anti-terror law during a speech in 2007 when she responded to calls that the party take a stance against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) who has been fighting a 24-year separatist campaign.

"The prime minister says he will meet us if we declare the PKK a terrorist organisation. The problem will not be solved even if we do declare it a terrorist organization," she said in her speech.

Tugluk, a former chairwoman of her party, will only have to go behind bars if the appeals court upholds Thursday's verdict and lawmakers then agree to lift her parliamentary immunity.

Kurdish politicians in Turkey are routinely accused of supporting the PKK, which has been fighting for self-rule in the southeast since 1984 and is listed as a terrorist group by Ankara and much of the international community.

The DTP itself is currently on trial at the Constitutional Court for alleged links to the PKK and faces the risk of being outlawed.