Hayes' fateful hashish smuggling in Istanbul 1970

On October 7, 1970, 23-year-old American student William "Billy" Hayes was arrested at Istanbul Atatürk Airport. He was attempting to smuggle two kilograms of hashish out of Turkey, taped to his body. This fateful act, an attempt at drug smuggling, triggered one of the 1970s' most dramatic international crime stories. The narrative culminated in a spectacular escape, a controversial Oscar-winning film titled Midnight Express, and a lifelong struggle to correct a distorted portrayal. Hayes' five years in Turkish prisons – a harsh captivity marked by both corruption and unexpected humanity – reveal not only a brutal penal system but also the incredible human capacity for survival under extreme conditions.

Arrest at Atatürk Airport: fourth attempt stopped

It was late in the evening at Istanbul Atatürk Airport when Billy Hayes, wearing a homemade plaster cast designed to conceal the illegal cargo, attempted his fourth smuggling operation. Tensions were high; the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) had just carried out a series of hijackings, leading to extraordinary security measures at Turkish airports – a direct consequence of the increased terrorist threat. Although Hayes believed he had safely passed through customs, he was stopped by military police during a further inspection of passengers boarding an international flight.

Hashish discovery: brutal arrest and Turkish prison

The young American's hands trembled as officers discovered the vacuum-sealed blocks of hashish under his sweatshirt. "I felt my stomach lurch as one of the soldiers reached under my shirt," Hayes later recalled in his memoirs. The arrest procedure was brutal and chaotic – handcuffs, blows to the stomach, and a long night in a concrete jail cell at the airport police station. It was here that Billy Hayes fully understood, for the first time, the gravity of his situation in Turkey.

From four years to life: unjust verdict 1970-1973

The subsequent trial in Istanbul turned into a nightmare for Billy Hayes. On November 6, 1970, Turkish judges, under considerable pressure from the United States' intensified "war on drugs," sentenced him to four years and two months in prison for possession of hashish. But in a dramatic and shocking twist, just 53 days before his scheduled release in September 1973, Hayes faced a new court ruling. The Turkish prosecution had appealed the original verdict and succeeded in changing the sentence to life imprisonment for drug smuggling – a decision many considered disproportionate and possibly an expression of political maneuvering, if not an outright judicial murder.

Hayes as pawn: Nixon's drug war and US pressure

"The verdict came down at 3:47 p.m. on September 10, 1973," Hayes noted precisely in his records. The political context was crucial: President Nixon's administration in the US had put massive pressure on Turkey to toughen penalties for drug offenses. At the time, Turkey was considered responsible for up to 80% of the heroin on the New York market. This tense situation in international relations turned Billy Hayes into an unwitting pawn and a symbol in a broader geopolitical power struggle.

Captivity in Sağmalcılar: hell and Hamidou's cruelty

Billy Hayes' first imprisonment was in Sağmalcılar Prison in Istanbul, one of Turkey's notorious prisons. It was an overcrowded, medieval building where 2,000 inmates were crammed into space designed for 500. "The air was thick with the stench of shit and sweat," he wrote of the squalid conditions. Here, he encountered a motley crew of international drug smugglers, Turkish revolutionaries, and hitmen. A central and feared figure was the sadistic guard Hamidou, whose atrocities, according to Hayes' accounts, included forcing prisoners to lick toilets clean with their tongues – an example of the systemic corruption and brutality within the system.

Escape from İmralı: Hayes' swim to freedom 1975

The transfer to İmralı Prison, located on a remote island in the Sea of Marmara, in 1975 marked a turning point for Billy Hayes. It was here, on the island now known for housing PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan, that Hayes meticulously planned his daring escape. Under the cover of a stormy October night, he put his plan into action. "I had hidden a rubber boat made of prison shawls and rain gear for three months," he later revealed. At 2:30 a.m. on October 2, 1975, he swam three kilometers through icy water to the mainland. There, he changed into civilian clothes, which he had obtained through the pervasive corruption in the prison system.

Journey through Turkey: Istanbul and unexpected kindness

After his successful escape from İmralı Prison, Billy Hayes embarked on a perilous journey to freedom. It included a 27-kilometer rowboat trip to Bandirma, followed by a nerve-racking bus ride to Istanbul. Along the way in Turkey, he encountered unexpected compassion from local Turks who offered him food and money. "An old man gave me 100 lira and a pair of sandals without asking any questions," Hayes later recounted. This positive experience stood in stark contrast to the later film Midnight Express's controversial and one-sided portrayal of all Turks as cruel.

Across Evros River: escape to Greece, CIA inquiry

The escape's most dramatic moment occurred at the Greek-Turkish border near Edirne. Here, Billy Hayes swam across the Evros River under what he described as machine-gun fire – heavy shooting – from Greek border guards. After spending 18 days in Greek military custody, suspected of espionage, he was deported to West Germany on October 20, 1975. In Germany, he was interrogated by CIA agents about conditions in Turkish prisons before he could finally return home to the US on October 24, where his incredible story of captivity and escape would soon become world-famous.

"Midnight Express": Stone's film and Interpol's pursuit

Oliver Stone's 1978 film adaptation, the Oscar-winning Midnight Express, cemented a lasting and strongly negative image of Turkey as a barbaric country. Several scenes, including a fictional and murderous escape scene where the character Billy Hayes (played by Brad Davis) bites out a guard's throat, were pure fabrications. "I never attacked anyone during my escape," the real Billy Hayes has repeatedly emphasized. The infamous line, "I hate Turkey and its people," was written by Oliver Stone without Hayes' knowledge and contributed to Hayes being wanted by Interpol for 20 years, further straining political relations.

Reconciliation 2007: Hayes returns and apologizes

In a remarkable political and personal twist, Billy Hayes visited Turkey again in 2007. His official purpose was to apologize for the distortion of the country caused by the film Midnight Express. "Midnight Express is not a hate declaration against Turkey," Hayes insisted during a well-attended press conference in Istanbul. "It is a warning against reckless choices." His gesture of reconciliation was met with surprising goodwill from Turkish authorities, who even invited him back as part of a cultural collaboration, an attempt to heal the wounds left by the controversial film.

Life after prison: career and cost of smuggling

After his final return to the US, Billy Hayes built a career as a writer and public speaker, with a strong focus on the need for penal reform. His critically acclaimed one-man show, "Riding the Midnight Express," played on Broadway in 2014. Here, Hayes emphasized that his greatest punishment was not the imprisonment in Turkey itself, but the feeling of having failed his family. "My father died while I was in prison, and it crushed me," he revealed in a 2015 interview, highlighting the personal costs of his drug smuggling.

Billy Hayes' legacy: reality to reconciliation and hope

The true story of Billy Hayes is a complex narrative that explores the depths of international legal rulings, the consequences of drug smuggling, and the incredible range of human capacity – from self-destruction to extraordinary resilience under brutal captivity. While the film Midnight Express will forever be associated with clichés about brutality in Turkish prisons, Hayes' later reconciliation work with Turkey serves as a potent reminder. It shows that even the most distorted and political narratives can pave the way for dialogue and understanding, if one possesses the courage to confront one's own past and the mistakes one has made.

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