Aysel Tugluk was convicted by a judge in southeastern Diyarbakir of having violated the penal code and the anti-terror law in 14 speeches.

She was accused of having spread propaganda in favour of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and committing offenses in the name of the organisation without being a member.

Tugluk, a former lawyer for the PKK's imprisoned leader Abdullah Ocalan, now enjoys immunity as a member of the Turkish parliament, expected to last until the next elections in 2015.

Tugluk was elected as an independent lawmaker for southeastern Van province in 2011, where her 35 Kurdish-backed comrades also took their seats in the 550-strong Turkish parliament.

It is expected that Tugluk will appeal the verdict.

Last month, another prominent Kurdish lawmaker, Leyla Zana, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for spreading PKK propaganda and violating anti-terror law.

One of the most outspoken Kurdish rights advocates, Zana was jailed between 1994 and 2004, and awarded the European Parliament's Sakharov human rights award in 1995.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist organisation by Turkey and much of the international community, took up arms in Kurdish-majority southeastern Turkey in 1984, sparking a conflict that has claimed some 45,000 lives.