Who Is Ece Heper? Canada Woman Arrested, Charged In Turkey For ‘Insulting’ President Erdoğan

A woman with dual Canadian and Turkish citizenship has been arrested and charged in Turkey for allegedly insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, according to reports Thursday. The arrest was made on Dec. 30 in Kars city in northeastern Turkey.

The woman has been identified as Ece Heper — a resident of Ontario, Canada. She was taken into custody over Facebook posts critical of Erdoğan, according to reports. Canadian authorities have not released information about the matter over privacy concerns, but said that they are offering her consular assistance.

Heper is in Turkey since mid-November, Canadian media reported, citing her friends.

“She [Heper] is intense and opinionated, for sure,” Birgitta Pavic, one of Heper’s friends said, according to the Canadian Press. “But everything is intense over there right now, especially criticizing the government.”

The arrested woman’s parents are deceased and she is estranged from her brother, Pavic reportedly said, adding that Heper’s friends have decided to help her out. They also got in touch with several human rights organizations to help with her case.

Emrah Bayram, another friend of Heper, told BBC that it could take at least a month before her case goes to trial.

Heper lives with her five dogs she rescued from Turkey “that are like her children,” Pavic reportedly said. She also suffers from “some health issues” and her friends have expressed concern over her access to medications while she remains in custody.

Heper reportedly had been spending more time in Turkey over the past year after she became friends with a man in southern Turkey, near the Syrian border. She told friends that the man was in exile and stayed in a Kurdish region in northern Syria.

“She has a real interest about the problems Kurdish people face in the country,” Bayram told the Canadian Press.

The Turkish president has drawn flak over increasing crackdown on freedom of speech in recent years with about 2,000 cases being opened for insulting him. These cases include those of a former Miss Turkey and a 16-year-old student. One man was convicted of insulting Erdoğan and was handed down a suspended one-year jail sentence after sharing images that likened the president to the fictional character Gollum from “The Lord of the Rings.”

According to Turkey’s penal code, people who insult the president can end up in jail for up to four years.