Turkish police arrest Canadian woman for allegedly insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan

Insulting the president is a crime punishable by up to four years in prison in Turkey

Ece Heper's friends say she suffers from 'some health issues' and expressed concern about her access to medicine while detained (Ece Heper/Facebook)

A Canadian woman has reportedly been arrested in Turkey for allegedly insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Facebook.

Ece Heper, 50, was arrested in the northeastern city of Kars and charged on 30 December, her lawyer Sertac Celikkaleili told The Canadian Press​.

Ms Heper, who has dual Canadian and Turkish citizenship, is a resident of Ontario, Canada.

Canadian authorities have said they are offering consular assistance, but are yet to release any further information over privacy concerns.

It could take at least a month before Ms Heper's case goes to trial, her friend Emrah Bayram told the BBC.

Her friends say Ms Heper suffers from "some health issues" and expressed concern about her access to medicine while detained.

Insulting the president is a crime punishable by up to four years in prison in Turkey.

Lawyers for Mr Erdogan have filed more than 1,800 cases against people, including cartoonists, a former Miss Turkey winner and a 16-year-old student on accusations of insulting him.

One man was given a suspended one-year jail sentence for sharing images comparing the president to Gollum from The Lord of the Rings.