MEDİNE MAMEDOĞLU

Van- MAkbule Özer was arrested in the Artemêtan (Edremit) district of Van province on May 9, 2022 on charges of “aiding a (terrorist) organization” and then she was released from prison on September 7, 2022. However, she was arrested again on April 22, 2024 after the Forensic Medicine Institution (ATK) prepared a report saying, “She could stay in prison”. On August 31, 2024, she was released from prison after 254 days.

Makbule Özer was held in a ward along with 75-year-old Hanife Arslan and a 3-year-old child. “They put us in prison whether we are old or children because we are Kurds,” Makbule Özer told NuJINHA.

‘Health of Hanife Arslan is deteriorating’

Sick prisoner Hanife Arslan is transferred to hospital almost every day; however, her health is deteriorating, Makbule Özer told us. “There were different problems in winter and summer,” she said, adding that prisons are not good places for either children or sick people. Hanife Arslan was released from prison under judicial control, so she has to sign in at the police station four times a week. “Neither my health nor that of Hanife’ was good in prison. She was transferred to a hospital almost every day but I did not want to be transferred to a hospital after realizing that nothing had changed. Prison meals were very bad. Everyone got sick due to prison meals. Although Hanife was transferred to a hospital every day, there was no change in her illness or pain. She was taken to the hospital in the morning and then taken back to prison. In prison, she was given her medication and different meals but prison was still not a place neither for her nor for me.”

‘I felt sad not for myself but for young people’

When Makbule Özer was released from prison, her health deteriorated and now she has to take many medicines. “When I was held in prison, I fell off the bunk bed twice and hit my head. The air and meals in prison made people sick. I felt sad not for myself but for young people held in prison. Prisons are not good places for young people. When they got sick, I felt awful. The wards were very cold in winter and very hot in summer.”

‘I was held along with a 3-year-old child in the ward’

A woman and her 3-year-old child were held in the same ward with Makbule Özer. “There were people of all ages in the prison,” Makbule Özer said. “There was a child named Şahane. She always asked us why she was held there. She got bored in prison. There were children held in other wards, too. All she did was watch TV. When I was released from prison, I was not allowed to say goodbye to her. They put my dress in a trash bag and released me.”

‘All sick prisoners and children should be released’

Makbule Özer made a scarf decorated with yellow, red and green beads in the prison; however, the wardens took her scarf from her. “They took my scarf and then gave me it back after removing the beads. Neither I, nor Hanife, nor that child were guilty. Although we were innocent, we were held behind bars. They put us in prison whether we are old or children because we are Kurds. All sick prisoners and children should immediately be released from prison.”