Abdullah Baybaşin was a

drug dealer A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalati ...

in Britain. He had been accused in 2004 and convicted of drug charges in 2006 for

trafficking Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. There are various ...

of heroin, and sentenced to 22 years in prison. The British Court of Appeal ordered a retrial on the drugs charge in 2010 after determining that the judge’s summing up of the evidence at the trial was unfair. At retrial on 22 October 2010, a judge at London's

Woolwich Crown Court Woolwich Crown Court, or more accurately the Crown Court at Woolwich, is located at 2 Belmarsh Road, Thamesmead is one of twelve Crown Court centres serving Greater London. It is adjacent to both HM Prison Belmarsh and Belmarsh Magistrates' C ...

ordered the jury to find Baybasin not guilty because the lack of prosecution evidence meant a conviction would be unsupported. Judge Charles Byers said that there was no

direct evidence Direct evidence supports the truth of an assertion (in criminal law, an assertion of guilt or of innocence) directly, i.e., without an intervening inference. A witness relates what they directly experienced, usually by sight or hearing, but also p ...

and very little circumstantial evidence of Baybasin's involvement in a

conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, is a secret plan or agreement between persons (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder or treason, especially with political motivation, while keeping their agre ...

to supply 5 lb (2.3 kg) of heroin. Baybaşin's family claimed he was wrongly accused by the British Police. They alleged that he was convicted at the first trial despite a lack of evidence, except for the statement of a convicted

felon A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that resul ...

that turned out to be untruthful. It was also claimed that the British press declared him guilty on the basis of

hearsay Hearsay evidence, in a legal forum, is testimony from an under-oath witness who is reciting an out-of-court statement, the content of which is being offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted. In most courts, hearsay evidence is inadmiss ...

without carrying out any kind of investigation. On 8 November 2010, Baybasin was awarded £20,000 in damages by the Prison Services. The

Ministry of Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry. Lists of current ministries of justice Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia) * Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Just ...

has accepted that Baybasin, who uses a wheelchair, suffered from degrading treatment and discrimination on account of his disability while he was in Belmarsh jail in London. On hearing the decision of the Ministry, Baybaşin said that "The treatment I received at HMP Belmarsh was very degrading, and at times I struggled to cope. I thought I would die in prison, and often thought things would never get better."

References

External links

* Summers, Chris.
"The rise and fall of a drugs empire"
', BBC News. April 7, 2006. Living people Year of birth missing (living people) People from Lice, Turkey Turkish people of Kurdish descent Turkish emigrants to the United Kingdom Turkish expatriates in the United Kingdom Turkish drug traffickers Turkish crime bosses {{Crime-bio-stub