Belfast man is facing seven years

A Belfast man is facing seven years in a Turkish jail after being charged with fighting with hotel staff, being drunk and disorderly and punching a hole in a door. Gerard Marshall’s nightmare began on July 14 when he was arrested in the sunshine Alanya resort. The thirty-six-year-old was released on bail the following day and is due to appear again in court on September 7.

Until then Gerard’s home is a cramped apartment in a country where he knows no one and does not speak the language. His ex-wife Charlene McGarry, who was on holiday with Gerard but has since flown home, described the situation as a nightmare.

She said: “Apparently Gerard had words with a barman and when he went up to his room he had forgotten his key so he asked staff to open the door. “The manager got involved and then the next thing was he closed the door on him and Gerard’s arm went through the door,” added Charlene.

The Ardoyne father of two was taken to hospital where he received 15 stitches. But before he could leave the ward he was arrested. He was bailed the next day on a litany of charges that could see him banged up for seven years. Relatives have flown out to Turkey.

However Charlene says all he wants if for the ordeal to end. “He just sits there and watches the traffic all day long out the window,” she added.

“He knows nobody, he is in a place in the back hole of nowhere. “He has no TV, radio or internet to pass the time.”

Read more: http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/northern-ireland-man-facing-jail-in-turkey-14474809.html#ixzz0R56muOQj

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Category: Local