EXCLUSIVE: A Brit tourist has been left stranded in Turkey for more than a month after police allegedly mistook a life-threatening asthma attack for drunkeness and put his passport on a ban, leaving him unable to return home
Police threatened to shoot a Brit tourist after mistaking a severe asthma attack for drunkenness – days after he emerged from a three-day coma, he had claimed
Carl Ratcliffe, 47, said he has been trapped in Turkey after a medical emergency led to police arresting him while he was out for a walk. Carl has brittle asthma, a rare and severe form of the condition that can cause sudden, life-threatening attacks despite intensive treatment.
He and his fiancée, Natalia Flynn, 49, travelled to Bodrum on June 10 for a holiday. But just days into the trip, Carl suffered a severe asthma attack and was placed in an induced coma for three days. After recovering, Carl proposed to his partner Natalia. But what should have been the happiest week of his life soon descended into what he describes as a nightmare.
The couple extended their stay while he awaited doctors’ approval to fly home. Days later, his asthma struck again. He told the Mirror: “Then I had an asthma attack, I was laying on the floor. A member of the public had to phone the ambulance.”
A paramedic on a motorbike helped Carl to his feet, but he said the bike toppled over as he held it in an attempt to steady himself.
He said: “I couldn’t breathe. It felt like I was being suffocated and dizzy and the bike’s just toppled over away from me. The paramedic left me on the floor.”
Carl claimed police then arrived while he was still having the asthma attack before arresting him. He added: “They picked me up, and said if they don’t see my hands in front of my body they’ll shoot me. I was shouting ‘I’m having an asthma attack, I can’t breath.’
“They couldn’t speak a word of English and put my hands behind my back in handcuffs – which makes the attack worse. I refused the breathalyser, because I was having an asthma attack – I couldn’t do it, so they arrested me for resisting arrest.
“They threw me in a prison cell for 14 hours, while I was having an asthma attack, not understanding I was seriously ill. No-one watching me. It was faeces everywhere around the toilet, on the floor. There was a hole in the floor for the toilet. And there was rat poo everywhere. There was no water offered to me, no drink, no food, nothing. They didn’t even check on me.”
Fourteen hours later, Carl said he was released after a judge found there had been no criminal activity after reviewing video footage. However, he said a passport block had since prevented him from leaving Turkey.
Days later, Carl returned to hospital after another asthma attack. He said: “When I got there, they asked me what works for me, I told them magnesium and the next minute, I woke up five days later. They put me in an induced coma without even trying to help me.
“It’s is the worst experience you could ever have in your life you think you’re dying Well, you basically are dying, aren’t you?
“When I woke up my hands were tied to the bed, I started crying because I couldn’t get any words out. I needed water and I was suffocating. Luckily I managed to snap one of the ropes on my left hand to grab a water beside the bed but sprained my wrist doing it.”
Carl said the ordeal has left him fearing death for the first time, he said: “I’ve never ever been scared of dying but when you’re actually suffocating and you can see no one’s helping you and you just know you need water in your throat that was the worst experience into my life.”
Carl later discharged himself from hospital. He said: “I self-discharged because I didn’t feel safe there – I’d be dead if they put me back in a coma. They just wanted to keep me there so they can get more money off the insurance.”
Carl claimed the hospital later told him it would no longer issue him with a fit-to-fly certificate after he contacted his insurer.
He said: “Now I’m being held prisoner it’s like being arrested, my partner’s gone home so I’m here by myself and it’s just it’s horrible i want to be home. I’ve got bills at home, I’ve got bills here now. I’m leading a double live. I’m running out of money – this isn’t a holiday, it’s a nightmare.”
“I’m a strong character, but it’s broken me. I’m so terrified, even if the ban’s lifted because I don’t trust the system.”
Labour Stevenage MP Kevin Bonavia who is due to raise his case in the House of Lords on July 17.
What was meant to be the trip of a lifetime, during which he got engaged, quickly became what he described as a nightmare holiday. Carl has since launched a GoFundMe to help cover his mounting legal and living costs while he remains stranded in Turkey.
