ISTANBUL - (AFP) - An Istanbul court decided on Friday to keep the president of Turkey 's largest doctors' union, Sibnem Koror Venjani, who is being tried on charges of "terrorist propaganda", in detention until the next session of her trial, Thursday.

Venjani was arrested on October 26 because she had called for an investigation into accusations by pro-Kurdish media and members of the Turkish opposition that the Turkish military had used chemical weapons against Kurdish fighters from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in Iraq.

Ankara immediately denounced what it called a "disinformation" campaign, while her arrest sparked protests in Istanbul, where dozens were arrested.

The 63-year-old forensic pathologist entered the packed courtroom Friday, raising her fist in the air, to cheers from her supporters, who were flanked by dozens of riot police.

During the session, she again called for an "effective investigation," including field inspections and autopsies of Kurdish fighters.

"As a human rights defender, I have a responsibility to defend freedom of expression and the public's right to information," she told the judges.

And the PKK announced that 17 of its fighters were killed in chemical weapons attacks in the mountains of northern Iraq.

Venjani is known in Turkey as an expert in forensic medicine and an opponent of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

In Berlin, the German government's representative for human rights, Louise Amtsberg, expressed her "solidarity" with Venjani, considering the human rights activist "one of the most courageous voices in Turkey."

"Turkey... must respect the right to expression and opinion," she added.

In turn, the non-governmental organization "Physicians for Human Rights" denounced the Turkish judiciary's decision to keep Finjani in detention, and considered it "a heinous attack on human rights that should be dealt with immediately."

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch issued a joint appeal with five other organizations to release Fenjani pending trial. However, the public prosecutor accused Venjani of "active participation in the propaganda of the PKK" and requested her continued detention.

Chibnem Koror Venjani said her detention helped draw attention to her calls for an independent investigation.

"No one thinks that arrest and imprisonment is difficult for me. In fact, this is a golden opportunity for a human rights defender like me," she added.