“I am Marc, i will tell you the story i had in turkey.
I just went out of jail thanks to the guaranty of 6000 euros that my father had to pay for my liberation.
I just bought a simple fossil of sea urchin, you can buy it quite everywhere in turkey for 2 euros
The only thing that I know, is that at the airport of Antalya,they took my fossil and then stopped me.
The first night, I slept on a bed made of wood.
The following i was treated as i killed somebody
After what one threw me in the jail Of Antalya.
We were 15 in the cells only tourist
It is there that I learned that it was current currency to stop a tourist from time to time for these reasons.
About hundred per year more or less.
I incurred an active prison sentence of 5 to 10 years and that only my judgment would determine if one will agree to leave or not paying for a guaranty of 6000 euros.
You will guess the anguishes that I have to undergo during the 43 days that I waited before being judged.
No right to phone and to write a total isolation accompanied by malnutrition, racket, the shower all the 10 days
it was necessary to all to pay even for its electricity.
A German of 37 years hung itself in the cell. He had collected a stone not an ancient stone.
My lawyer made a very good work there, he gathered a lot of proofs, he even returned in Cappadoce to take photos of the displays of the tradesmen. Accompanied by the police
But all of that didn't serve, it's just to extract me 6000 euros. But this history cost me more than 12000 euros, a police record and a moral prejudice and physical
Marc “
_______
turkish documents about it :
http://numaly.free.fr/mediasturcssansframe.htm
(or
http://numaly.free.fr/ + médias turcs)
http://www.nethaber.com/haber/haberler/0,1082,82483_3,00.html
AFP, july 17th., 2003
Six weeks in turkish jail for buying a fossil worth two Euros.
A French tourist spent about six weeks in turkish jail after having bought
a fossilized sea urchin valued two Euros in a souvenir shop, thus reported
on thursday to AFP by a speaker of Leclerc Travels, that sold the trip to a
graphic artist from Paris.
Incarcerated on April 1st, the 36 years old tourist Marc Landez, only
landed in Paris on May 13th, after having appeared before the turkish court
on May 9th, reported the two-weekly Libération; the information was
confirmed by the speaker of Leclerc Travels.
According to Libération and the graphic artist's lawyer, Stéphane Martiano,
Mr. Landez lost 12.500 Euros during the event: he had to pay 3.500 Euros
defense fee and 6.000 Euros bail to regain his liberty.
Mr. Martiano confirms to have filed a complaint against Leclerc Travels in
France for the lack of advice and information.
According to the two-weekly about a hundred tourists were already arrested
in turkey. For the last two years the authorities seem to have opted for a
larger interpretation of a law of 1997.
This law draws inspiration from an agreement by the Unesco about the
heritage of global culture envisaging the protection of antiquities and
geological specimens "of extraordinary universal value", according to
Libération. This agreement would forbid the exportation, but not the sale,
according to the journal. (AFP, july 17th., 2003)
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