81-year-old Makbule Özer to go back to prison

81-year-old Makbule Özer, sentenced to 2 years and one month in prison in Van, was released in September 2022, after the sentence was postponed for a year. Now she is to be sent back to jail.

Makbule Özer, 81, was sentenced to 2 years and one month in prison for “aiding a terrorist organization” in Van province. She was released in September 2022, after the sentence was postponed for a year.

Now the 81-year-old Kurdish woman will be imprisoned again following the report from the Institute of Legal Medicine (ATK) stating that “she can stay in prison”.

According to information published by the Mezopotamya Agency, the letter sent to the court by the ATK on 11 November, stated that "according to the existing documents and the results of the examination of Makbule Özer, it is appropriate that she remains in a type R (rehabilitation) prison.”

Özer's daughter, Naime Özer, said: “My mother received a disability report of 61% in the hospital. We sent these reports to the prosecutor's office. Then we took my mother to the ATK that decided it was appropriate for her to remain in prison. Even when we took her to the courthouse, we took her in a wheelchair. My mother is in a situation where she cannot stand. Last year she could get up and get a glass of water, but now she can't even do that. We carry our mother on our back. The whole world saw the situation my mother was in. We want this illegality to end now.”