British holidaymaker issues desperate plea as he's thrown in Turkish jail for having an asthma attack
A 47-year-old Brit says he's trapped in Turkey after he'd been arrested on suspicion of being drunk, when he was actually having a serious asthma attack.
Carl Ratcliffe and his fiancée Natalia Flynn, 49, had set off for Turkey on 10 June for what was meant to be an eight day trip, but their luxury getaway became the holiday from hell.
Two days into the holiday Carl had a severe asthma attack while on an evening walk and was rushed to hospital, where he was placed in an induced coma for three days.
The Brit suffers from life-threatening brittle asthma and was stuck in Turkey until he could be granted a 'fit to fly' certificate, and on 23 June after watching the England vs Ghana World Cup game at a bar he suffered another major asthma attack.
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An ambulance was called, but Carl claims police mistakenly believed his medical emergency was drunken behaviour and arrested him, he alleged that he was threatened with being 'shot' by officers if they couldn't see his hands.
Blood tests exonerated Carl and showed he had no alcohol in his system, leading to his release the following day.
However, he says a judge has stopped him from leaving the country so he's still unable to return home and has racked up £10,000 in costs from accommodation, living costs and legal fees, while he's paying the mortgage on a property back home he's not allowed to return to.
The Stevenage bloke said: "I'm a strong character but what I have been through is ridiculous.
"I could have died in the hands of the police on two occasions, while suffering a panic attack and if they had shot me."
He's said his anxiety was 'through the roof' and he's 'praying I don't have another asthma attack as I don't want to go back to hospital'.
The holiday had started so well as Carl had proposed to Natalia and she'd said yes.
However, when he was arrested he recounted that he tried to tell officers he couldn't breathe and was physically unable to do a breathalyser test, which resulted in them taking him to a police station for resisting arrest.
He said Turkish police also claimed he was abusive towards them, something he denies.
Carl spent four hours having an asthma attack as he was put in a small cell which the man said 'absolutely stunk'.
He said: "All I had was a chair and a hole in the corner to go to the toilet which was covered in faeces."
His ordeal in jail lasted 14 hours in total before he appeared before a court and was de-arrested as test results proved he'd not been drinking.
Yet another wrench was thrown in his plans as when he tried to go home he said a judge banned him from getting on a plane, since when police turned up to arrest Carl he collapsed onto a paramedic's motorbike and the judge said that 'required further investigation'.
He's offered to pay for any damage, but a travel restriction was put on his passport and he's stuck waiting for the prosecution to complete the paperwork and actually get round to the case.
He said: "Meanwhile, we remain unable to leave the country. I feel helpless and stuck in a horror story."
Two days after that things went from bad to worse as Carl went to hospital to collect an inhaler and ended up in an induced coma, waking up five days later.
When he woke up his arms were tied to the hospital bed which he had to break out from.
He discharged himself from hospital the same day, 1 July, but is still stuck in Turkey.
He's got a Just Giving page where he's raising money to try and support himself while he's stranded a continent away from home.
His mum, Francine Kelly, 65, from County Down, Northern Ireland, said: "They treated him like an animal, I am heartbroken.
"I just want him home and safe in the UK."
A Foreign Office spokesperson said: "We are supporting a British man in Turkey, and are in touch with the local authorities."
Joe Harker