She was arrested on 5 November 2006 for alleged membership in the PKK.[5] But after she ran as an independent candidate within the Thousand Hopes alliance for the parliamentary elections from prison and after winning a seat in Istanbul with 93,000 votes,[6] she was released from custody in July 2007.[7] She was elected to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey from prison to the surprise of many.[8] In the parliamentary election of 2011, she was an independent candidate to parliament supported by the Labor, Democracy and Freedom Block,[9] and was elected as an MP for Istanbul.[10] After her election she led a movement which criticized the fact that Hatip Dicle was not allowed to assume his seat in parliament even though he was elected.[9] In 2013 she was elected Co-Chair of the HDP together with Ertuğrul Kürkçü.[11] In May 2016 she was elected Co-Chair of the Democratic Regions Party (DBP) together with Kamuran Yüksek.[12] As by September 2016 several Mayors of the DBP were removed, the DBP Co-Chair Tunnel invited the mayors to work on for the people from the parties buildings instead of the municipalities.[13]