Current News - 17 April 2013

Wednesday 17 April, 2013

The legal office on the US Military Installation at Incirlik, Turkey was a tremendous help today. Due to my status as a Department of Defense Civilian (working in Germany), I was entitled to legal advice from their office. Ms. Filiz De Vette translated my court documents and for the first time I was made aware of what exactly the court papers said. The over-the-phone translation I received from the US Embassy in Ankara was inadequate and misleading. Up until this point, I'd been led to believe that until a seven day travel ban was lifted, I could not do anything so I needed to find a lawyer in the mean time. The truth is, the court process I attended on Monday the 15th was a preliminary hearing meant to determine whether or not I would be held in custody until court proceedings were completed. That judge decided not to arrest me but placed a travel ban on me that prevented me from leaving the country. This ban is for a undetermined amount of time. Here's the 7 day part: I have seven days for a lawyer to object the decision and to visit court again. If I go with a good lawyer, chances are that the travel ban will be lifted and I can be allowed back into my country. During the court processes, my lawyer would represent me from Turkey. If this doesn't work well and my ban isn't lifted, I will be stuck here throughout the court proceedings. They are usually comprised of multiple hearings and are 2 to 4 weeks apart. :(
Ms. Filiz provided me with a current set of lawyers to contact and one recommended lawyer who'd worked on many Air Force cases in the past. I have contacted her and she seems very promising. I am expecting a call from her this afternoon.