British man arrested in Turkey during asthma attack, barred from leaving

Carl Ratcliffe, a 47-year-old former bank manager from Britain, described his holiday in Turkey as a "nightmare" after being arrested and subsequently barred from leaving the country. Ratcliffe was on a 10-day trip to Bodrum with his fiancée, Natalia Flynn, when he suffered a severe asthma attack on the eighth day of their vacation.

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I am a strong person, but what I have been through is ridiculous. I could have died because of how I was treated by the police, twice, while having a panic attack.

He was rushed to the American Hospital in Bodrum and placed in an induced coma, regaining consciousness three days later. While watching a football match in a bar on June 23, Ratcliffe experienced a second asthma attack. He claims Turkish police misinterpreted his medical distress as intoxication. Despite a blood test the following day revealing no alcohol in his system, a judge prohibited him and his fiancée from leaving Turkey.

"I am a strong person, but what I have been through is ridiculous. I could have died because of how I was treated by the police, twice, while having a panic attack," Ratcliffe stated. He expressed fear of being shot by police and extreme anxiety about the situation. He recounted that police wanted him to take a breathalyzer test, which he was unable to do due to his condition. He was subsequently arrested for resisting arrest, refusing the test, and being aggressive, claims he denies.

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I feared even that they might shoot me. My anxiety is at its peak and I am terrified at the thought of having to go to the airport when, hopefully, I can get out of this situation.

Ratcliffe spent a total of 14 hours in police custody before being released. He later returned to the hospital for a replacement inhaler and was again placed in an induced coma, waking up five days later without knowing why. A crowdfunding campaign has been initiated to assist the couple, who have been stranded in Turkey for over a month.

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I told them I couldn't breathe and that I had an asthma attack, but they said they didn't speak English. They wanted me to do a breathalyzer test, but I couldn't, so they arrested me for resisting arrest, for not providing a sample for the breathalyzer, and for being aggressive with them. I wasn't aggressive at all.