Makbule Özer fainted in Van prison and broke her arm when she fell. The octogenarian, together with her husband, was sentenced to over two years in prison for supporting a terrorist organisation and has been imprisoned since 9 May despite severe pre-existing conditions and a degree of disability of 53 per cent.

According to reports, Makbule Özer suffered a fainting spell. She had broken her arm earlier, and the fall caused a new fracture in the same place. She was taken back to prison after a night in hospital for inpatient treatment. According to her relatives, her arm is in plaster and she can hardly walk. Due to severe pain, she receives daily infusions and cannot sleep at night.

Makbule Özer's lawyer has repeatedly applied for a reprieve from detention and suggested electronically monitored house arrest as an alternative. The applications were rejected. The case of the eighty-year-old Kurdish woman is a tragic example of the enemy criminal law practised in Turkey.