The family of a French, Jewish, gay man has called on the government of France to intervene over emerging details of his treatment in a Turkish prison.
Fabien Azoulay, 43, is currently serving a 16-year prison sentence in Turkey for attempting to buy the drug GBL. Reports have begun to emerge of his extreme harassment by other inmates for not being a Muslim, and for his homosexuality. At the time of this writing, his family has launched a petition to pressure French President Emmanuel Macron to pressure Turkey for his release.
On April 13, the Turkish ambassador to France reassured the public that Azoulay has been moved to a new prison facility following reports of physical abuse.
“The problem was that he had a fellow inmate who behaved violently toward him,” the ambassador said in a television interview.
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Supporters of Azoulay may not feel reassured. A letter from the inmate, who has been serving his term since 2017, was made public by Azoulay’s family. In it, he details violent attacks against both himself and other prisoners.
“One guy had his throat slit by a group of four Syrians,” Azoulay wrote in a letter, according to The Algemeiner. I was sleeping when it happened but the screams of the other prisoners woke me up. The sight of blood everywhere was frightening, worse than a horror movie. I later learned that the prisoner who died had made sexual advances on one of the Syrians and that, in the name of Allah, he had to pay with his life because of his homosexuality.”
Azoulay reported another incident where a fellow inmate scalded him with boiling hot water, which resulted in second-degree burns and hospitalization. That attack prompted his move to a new prison, though his family is now unable to visit him.
Prior to his arrest, Fabien Azoulay managed a beauty spa in New York. He’d flown to Istanbul for a hair transplant when he ordered GBL online, set to be shipped to his hotel room. Turkish authorities intervened and arrested him for the purchase, as the nation had outlawed GBL six months prior.
April 13, the City Council of Paris passed a resolution calling on Turkey to release Azoulay, labeling his sentence “excessive.” An online petition to have Azoulay transferred to France to serve the remainder of his sentence has also garnered 80,000 signatures at the time of this writing.
For Azoulay, that help can’t come soon enough. “I pray and cry every day for a miracle,” he wrote in a letter to his family. “I can’t imagine staying here for the full 16 years and eight months.”
Chrisk
Wow. I can’t imagine getting a 16 year sentence for buying GBL or GHB. I used to buy at GNC back in the 2000’s. It helped with my insomnia. I would wake up totally refreshed.
This reminds me of the movie Midnight Express. Sounds like nothing has changed.
Creamsicle
Prison for consumer drug offenses is stupid and just creates pointless suffering. This man did not hurt or harm anyone in any way.
Dymension
How about people just follow the laws? Ignoring them causes pointless suffering. I don’t understand why people are surprised. Also, this is the middle east. Is anyone really surprised here?
Chrisk
Dymension
It’s a law that many would miss since it’s so recent (6 months). He’s probably been there before and never had any issues and just assumed everything would be fine.
Cam
@Dymension
The law had just been changed a few months earlier. But we’re used to accounts coming on here to always attack LGBTQ victims.
tjack47
I thought of Midnight Express too and the late Brad Davis and John Hurt. The brutality and vicious discrimination of LGBTQ+ people continues in Turkey, and in prison, most definitely here in the good old USA. All over our globe, we continue to see prison sentences and worse, death sentences, being doled out to us. Until the globe isn’t so inhumane, our work is never done. Drug sentences of tourists are excessive in many, many countries. Thailand is just one example. It was uninformed of him to attempt a purchase of any illegal substance. You’d think one would know better in Turkey. Why anyone would travel to Turkey is beyond me. He should be sent back to his native country expediently.
[email protected]
Turkey has a well known history for exorbitant prison sentences. Of all places to go for hair transplants?
Invader7
Another crappy country I’m boycotting. Which won’t get my $$$$ . What an ass backwards religiously perverse country. And screw the Syrians…. …THEY should be in prison…
corktownboy
And Turkey keeps pushing to become part of the EU! No thanks.
8millionandcounting
What do people not understand about it’s ANOTHER Country?
James
GET A LIFE.
Fahd
French and Turkish relationships are at a low point too with Erdogen having accused Macron of being anti-Islam because of some statements he made in response to some killing (Muslim on French) in France. Then there’s the French war ship off the coast of Turkey. The Turkish government is so stubborn when it comes to these sentences. What was he thinking? But that’s spilled milk. The situation for a gay French Jew in a Turkish prison must be very precarious. At least he’s getting letters out, and maybe lots and lots of international attention will result in the Turkish authorities at least looking out for his safety (protective custody, anyone?). Let’s hope there’s some deal to be made, but I would not count on it based on what the Turkish government has done in past. Poor guy!
Wheelerman
Oh ffs, bald is beautiful. This guy probably went to Turkey because they’ll do a hair transplant for 2 grand, whereas same thing costs 25 grand in US & Europe. Now he’s in hell because he ordered a drug he likely didn’t know had been recently outlawed in Turkey. I hope someone can get him out.
Josh in OR
Religious fundamentalism is a plague on humanity. Like most plagues that devastate all who come in contact with it, it thrives in prisons. Fundamentalism is like…a spiritual auto-immune disease that opens you up to other maladies like homophobia, racism, sexism, ignorance of science, lack of critical thinking, and all manner of other, societally lethal contagions.
Fox News and its ilk certainly help spread these diseases of the soul, but the primary carriers and spreaders are so-called churches who claim to revere Christ (while acting in ways He EXPLICITLY told His followers not to act) while undermining literally every message He brought. Religious liberty is all well and good, and we should all be free to worship – or NOT worship – as we see fit, so long as that worship doesn’t demonstrably harm its adherents or society.
We don’t allow churches to practice literal cannibalism (though symbolic cannibalism is cool…), or temple prostitution, or child marriages (at least, those of us who live in states not controlled by fundamentalist whack jobs don’t…). These are rightly seen as harmful to individuals AND to society, so I have to ask: When will we stop pretending that homophobia, transphobia, sexism, anti-science rhetoric, anti-democracy rhetoric, anti-reality rhetoric and so on are just an acceptable part of ‘religious liberty’ that we HAVE to accept? When will we finally recognize the harm fundamentalism has done to humanity in general and to American idealism specifically?
Hopefully, I live to see it…
Me2
Talk about unfair and excessive punishment! This needs international media attention and pressure akin to the Amanda Knox situation. He needs to be transferred to France and released immediately!!
James
16 YEARS. TURKEY IS AN UGLY COUNTRY WITH THAT HORRIBLE SICK PSYCOPATH ERDOGAN.
jniceny
Excessive prison–the prize goes to U.S.A. In September 2013, the incarceration rate of the United States of America was the highest in the world at 716 per 100,000 of the national population; by 2019 it had fallen to 419 per 100,000. While the United States represents about 4.4 percent of the world’s population, it houses around 22 percent of the world’s prisoners. The US has 1.4 million people in jail, detention, or prison, compared to less than 50,000 people in Turkey. What is happening to this man, is horrible, but we have our own human rights problems here at home (school to prison pipeline, 3000 deaths by police a year) and around the world (our government under both parties meddles in elections, invades, bombs, imposes economic sanctions, arms terrorists, and instigates coups in any country with fossil fuels that won’t let Chevron or Exxon profit from)–before we worry about human rights in the MIddle East.
Vince
Except this is practically a life sentence (maybe even death) for just buying GHB on a first time offence. Here the penalty would a slap on the wrist.
cuteguy
This reminds me of the Clare Danes movie, Brokedown Palace. It’s 2021 but some countries are still living in archaic ignorant times. Feels like a time warp. Makes me weary of traveling but I definitely won’t be traveling to the Middle East. They won’t be getting my tourist dollars and I hope ppl, especially Americans stop going there and giving them our tourist dollars. Gay lives also matter
BGreen1963
Some countries? How about the US? Have you heard about the hell holes that are the red states? Does the word “RepubliKKKan” ring a bell?