Makbule Ozer and her 69-year-old husband, Hadi Ozer, were detained in the summer of 2018 in Van province’s Edremit district for allegedly “aiding a terrorist organization,” in reference to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). The couple were sentenced to two years and one month.
Makbule spent four months behind bars, while Hadi served an eight-month period, and were released in September based on a medical report from the very same institution - Institute of Legal Medicines (ATK) - reporting that the elderly couple was sick.
Makbule says she is sick and does not want to go to prison again.
"No, I do not want to go to prison again," Makbule said. "I have a [medical] report that I cannot be in prison. But if I get punished again, I do not know what to do."
Erhan Ciftciler, Makbule's lawyer, says there are contradictory details in the old and new medical reports from the ATK institution regarding Makbule's health conditions.
"There are really big differences in both reports. If ATK says that the second report is accurate, we will surely stick to the first report, and the prosecutor has the option to choose the first report as a basis" to make its decision.
"Let the woman not go to jail. Let her finish the rest of her sentence at her home [house arrest]. She can say that [during her trial]," the lawyer added.
Makbule suffers from many chronic diseases, and she has a report of 52 percent disability.
Her husband is not facing imprisonment again. According to medical reports, he is unwell and cannot be behind bars.
"We do not want to go to jail," Hadi said. "Because it is not the time to go to jail."
Hadi went on to add: "God forbid. They slandered us. I mean, we did not do anything. We did not know what was going on. We just saw that they arrested us."
Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) was founded in 1978. It launched its guerilla war against Turkey six years later. The group initially struggled for the independence of Kurdistan but later demanded federalism. The PKK is designated by Turkey, the EU, and US as a terrorist organization.
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