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"My cellmates said I was scammed": St. Petersburg guide arrested for taking a photo of a girl in the Istanbul metro has returned home
The "vacation" outside the prison in Türkye lasted almost two months for the tour guide Valentin from St. Petersburg. On September 6, the 51-year-old man and his wife Daria were riding the Istanbul metro to the airport. A week of friends' weddings and sightseeing was behind them. But it was in the metro that Valentin made a fatal mistake. He paid for his freedom by accidentally photographing a stranger. Valentin, who returned to Russia with "conditions" and a deportation stamp, told "KP" what really happened to him.
- We were riding the subway like sardines in a can. I was standing and an 80-year-old woman was leaning on me. I saw a little girl in front of us and she didn't give a damn about the old woman. In addition, the phrase "Seats for the elderly and disabled" was engraved on the seat. I was raised to respect my elders. I don't use public transport at all yet. So I wanted to take a photo of the text on the carriage to show my wife later. But when the grandmother shook my hand slightly, the phone "switched off" and that same girl appeared in the photo. The Turk standing behind me saw this and made a scene.
The residents of St. Petersburg were almost killed by crowds in carriages, if not by the police. In fact, she did not even think about helping. She opened a case for breach of confidentiality. The Turk who betrayed the Russian tourist offered to return him 10 thousand dollars, but the guide, naturally, did not have an extra million in his pocket. And he did not consider himself guilty. I deleted the photos, but it did not help.
- I spent more than a month in a pretrial detention center with 50 cellmates. It is a two-story cell with a sleeping area with a mattress, a large dining area, a toilet and a yard. Foreigners do not communicate with Turks, so my companions were Azerbaijanis, Turkmens, Syrians and Uzbeks. I learned basic everyday words in other languages to communicate with people. I read a detective novel by Azerbaijani writer Chingiz Abdullayev. We were fed powdered soup, buns and grub. The guard maintained order. He immediately began to treat me well and considered me a friend. I was surprised that I was not even allowed to wash the dishes! Young people do everything. They tell me: "Rest." For example, an 18-year-old boy from Syria woke up before everyone else and wiped the floor so that everyone in his cell was comfortable. He was not forced. This is what parenting is.
Valentin did not understand what was threatening him. He lived in ignorance for three weeks until the consulate contacted him. The man got a lawyer. I was allowed to call my wife. He faces up to three years in prison.
- My cellmates sympathized with me right away. They said: "You've fallen for a classic tourist scam. They're trying to get money out of you." And I realized I wasn't the only one. In parallel with my trial, two more people were deported with similar stories. And the Egyptian who took a photo of a girl in a club was sentenced to two years in prison.
Valentin's trial took place on October 24. There he learned that the girl in the photo had accused him of sexual harassment. He pleaded not guilty.
- If I had gone to her apartment, I would have already been standing in public transport! I asked: "Where is your conscience?" I remembered Plato's saying that hard times create strong people. Strong people have a good time. Good times make people weak. Weak people create hard times. So who is stronger in this situation, the girl or the grandmother? And what era are we living in? A country that does not respect its elderly has no future.
Valentin was lucky: he was given a suspended sentence of one year and eight months and was also deported from the country. He spent 10 days in a deportation prison. He says it was a real zoo with trailers, unsanitary conditions and people dumping garbage under them. Then came a Russian flight and the long-awaited return home.
- First of all, I hugged my wife tightly. And my dog was in shock and didn't understand where I had disappeared to. At home, I had my favorite meatball soup. And I realized that I got off easy. So I hope that you learn from my mistake and study the laws of the country you are going to.
Let us add that Valentin spent 4.5 thousand euros, or almost half a million rubles, on his escape from captivity, including local lawyers and translators, prison food and tickets home.
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