Correspondent: Desperately Seeking Asylum Tx Date: 22nd April 2001 This script was made from audio tape - any inaccuracies are due to voices being unclear or inaudible 00.00.02 Music 00.00.04 Edward Stourton Istanbul, December 1995. 00.00.09 Music 00.00.10 Edward Stourton A young English girl collapses on the street. 00.00.15 Music 00.00.17 Edward Stourton She's rushed to hospital but it's too late. 00.00.22 Music 00.00.28 Edward Stourton Three months later in Britain. 00.00.29 Music 00.00.32 Edward Stourton The man who was with her that day is going through the British asylum process. 00.00.36 Music 00.00.39 Edward Stourton But how do we decide who deserves Europe's protection? 00.00.42 Music 00.00.46 Edward Stourton Was this man just a little too desperate to seek asylum? 00.00.52 Correspondent Theme Music 00.01.02 Title Page DESPERATELY SEEKING ASYLUM The Right to Liberty and Security 00.01.18 Edward Stourton It is quintessentially a place where East meets West. 00.01.30 Edward Stourton Today that familiar phrase about Istanbul has a hard political edge. Turkey is knocking insistently on Europe's door, the largest and most controversial applicant for membership of the EU. 00.01.45 Edward Stourton One reason it's being kept out is because of its reputation as a state that abuses human rights. 00.01.51 Edward Stourton Turkey has another reputation just as enduring as a place of romance. 00.01.59 Edward Stourton And the story I was to find here mixes love, politics and prejudice. 00.02.11 Edward Stourton It begins on the Aegean coast, several hundred miles to the south of Istanbul. 00.02.17 Edward Stourton Bodrum was once home to the mausoleum, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. 00.02.24 Edward Stourton Today it's a Mecca for young holidaymakers like Anna Galliano in search of sun and fun. 00.02.33 Edward Stourton At twenty Anna was well on the way to making something of her life. She worked as a special constable and dental nurse while studying at night school. 00.02.42 Edward Stourton In July 1995 she had the summer ahead of her before starting university. She came to Bodrum for a two week holiday. With her brother Mike she checked into the Hotel Melodi. 00.02.57 Edward Stourton Mike already knew the barman, Asur Saribal, from a previous holiday. 00.03.02 Aston MIKE GALLIANO Anna's brother When we arrived to the Hotel Melodi, we was greeted by Asur. Asur was a fantastic person to get along with. He would always go out of his way to make you feel welcome. If you'd any problems at all then he would be the first one to sort something out for you. 00.03.23 Music 00.03.31 Edward Stourton Asur Saribal took Anna and her brother out to the best clubs and bars. 00.03.34 Music 00.03.40 Edward Stourton Before long the two had fallen for each other. 00.03.46 Mike Galliano Anna was always with Asur and she felt at ease when she was actually with Asur. The relationship and rapport that they had was brilliant. They had a laugh; they got on very, very well. 00.03.59 Edward Stourton Anna returned to Bodrum at the end of August and spent another three weeks with Asur. They got engaged. 00.04.06 Edward Stourton But then it was time for university. Brunel in London. 00.04.09 Music 00.04.19 Edward Stourton She started her geography and geology degree and her life changed. 00.04.24 Edward Stourton There was a new set of friends and signs that she was leaving Asur Saribal behind. 00.04.29 Edward Stourton She began a new relationship with a fellow student - James Stephanie. 00.04.34 Edward Stourton He remembers her conversations with Asur Saribal. 00.04.39 Aston JAMES STEFANIE Anna would receive phone calls at ungodly hours in the night. Luckily for her, or unluckily for her, her room was very near the phones in halls. More often than not there'd be a heated discussion over the telephone. I know those arguments, eventually the receiver would slam down and she'd be very upset, she'd quite often cry for quite a while. 00.05.05 James Stefanie I know she tried to break up with him over the phone on a number of occasions in the lead up to Christmas and unfortunately it wasn't received very well on the other end of the telephone. 00.05.20 Edward Stourton The intense tone of his letters suggests he was desperate not to lose her and a future together. Aston Actor's voice 00.05.26 Voice over reading letter from Asur Anna, I hope you're ok. I feel absolutely terrible. I was really in Daddy mood. Actually no, I think I shouldn't let you go at all from here. I've got a lot to say but I want to calm down and settle first. This morning I went to Bodrum to buy you a watch to send you as a present for a good Mum. Now I know you're not going to be a Mum but you're still good. Missing you a lot. 00.05.50 Edward Stourton Anna told her family and friends that she'd decided to go back to Turkey to face Asur Saribal. 00.05.57 James Stefanie It's a big decision to make to, one, get engaged and probably an even bigger decision to make to end an engagement like that. I think it must be a very difficult decision for anyone to make but obviously she'd come to, Anna had come to that conclusion. And I think she felt the best way of doing it was to go out to Turkey and actually end the relationship face to face. 00.06.20 Aston JAMES STEFANIE On a number of occasions I and a lot of other of Anna's friends would sort of talk to her and try and get her not to go out to Turkey. I think as a result of the telephone conversations and seeing how upset Anna would become we thought it's a bad idea for her to go out there. 00.06.43 Edward Stourton Saturday the 16th of December 1995 - Anna leaves for Istanbul. Asur Saribal was waiting at the airport for the woman he still regarded as his fiancée. 00.06.55 Music 00.06.57 Edward Stourton He'd arranged for the two of them to stay at a friend's flat on the outskirts of the city. 00.07.02 Edward Stourton On Sunday they went for a walk by the sea at Mamara. 00.07.06 Edward Stourton That evening they had dinner and watched a game of football on television. 00.07.09 Music 00.07.11 Edward Stourton On Monday morning Asur's friends went to work, leaving him alone with Anna in their flat. 00.07.18 Edward Stourton This is the account of what happened next that he later gave to a British coroner. Aston Actor's voice 00.07.24 Voice over About midday on the 18th of December Anna got out of bed. She was no different; in fact she was very happy. We left our apartment at about 3.30pm intending to walk to the nearby bus station. We'd only walked about seventy yards when Anna suddenly stopped. She was unsteady on her feet and suddenly collapsed. I left her and went for assistance. 00.07.32 Aston Reconstruction 00.08.01 Edward Stourton At the local clinic they referred Anna to a small hospital nearby. 00.08.05 Edward Stourton But that didn't have intensive care facilities and she had to be moved by ambulance to one of the city's main hospitals. 00.08.06 Aston Reconstruction 00.08.14 Edward Stourton Her condition was deteriorating rapidly by the time she arrived. 00.08.21 Aston Dr SEYFETTIN KAR Voice over Around 7 or 8 o'clock we heard noises of panic through the door. 00.08.28 Aston Reconstruction 00.08.32 Dr Seyfettin Kar Voice over She was extremely agitated, screaming and crying, but she wasn't speaking clearly. She was talking about a pain, holding her abdomen, moving her arms around wildly. 00.08.48 Aston Reconstruction 00.08.52 Aston MIKE GALLIANO Anna's brother Asur telephoned us. He was out of breath. He sounded, he was in shock. 00.08.59 Aston CAROL GALLIANO Anna's mother He was speaking in Turkish and he was speaking in English and he was just very distressed. 00.09.05 Mike Galliano He was saying; 'oh there's nothing I could do, Anna's collapsed, I tried my best, I've taken Anna to hospital and there's nothing I could do'. 00.09.13 Aston Reconstruction 00.09.21 Dr Seyfettin Kar Voice over We realised she wasn't breathing, there was no blood pressure. We immediately tried to resuscitate her. 00.09.28 Aston Reconstruction 00.09.30 Dr Seyfettin Kar Voice over We worked really hard because we thought she'd come back at any moment. Three or four times her heart started to beat normally, it was beating for five or ten minutes and then stopping again. 00.09.43 Dr Seyfettin Kar Voice over But she didn't come back and after her brain stopped functioning there was nothing else we could do. We declared her dead. 00.09.58 Carol Galliano My husband took the call. I knew something had happened by, you know, by his face. And straight away, you know, he was crying, I was crying, you know really upset obviously. I just couldn't believe it, just couldn't believe it had happened, you know, to such a young vibrant girl. I just couldn't understand what had happened. 00.10.26 Edward Stourton Mike Galliano left Manchester on a melancholy mission to bring his daughter's body home. 00.10.36 Edward Stourton Asur Saribal met him at Istanbul airport and took him to the hospital morgue. 00.10.41 Mike Galliano It was the following morning when I actually went to see Anna and identify her body. 00.10.55 Aston MIKE GALLIANO Anna's father I ended up giving her a kiss and said, yeah, that was Anna. And we put her back in. 00.11.05 Mike Galliano If anything Anna should be burying me, not the other way round, you know. Never thought about that at all. 00.11.17 Edward Stourton Asur Saribal was given a visa on compassionate grounds and flew to Britain just after Christmas. The funeral was in the New Year. 00.11.27 Carol Galliano It was a cold January day, all of Anna's friends from university turned up. It was a very difficult day, one of the worst days of my life. 00.11.39 Aston CAROL GALLIANO Anna's mother Asur was one of the pallbearers at Anna's funeral and very upset all the way through and when they actually buried Anna he threw a red rose in as the coffin went into the ground. 00.11.56 Music 00.11.58 Edward Stourton And then Asur Saribal faded from the Galliano's world. 00.12.03 Edward Stourton His temporary visa would have allowed him to stay in Britain for a short period of time. 00.12.08 Edward Stourton After visiting friends around the country he settled down and started work in a kebab shop in the south of England. 00.12.16 Edward Stourton In March he applied for political asylum under a false name, claiming he'd entered Britain hidden in the back of a lorry. 00.12.26 Aston Reconstruction 00.12.26 Edward Stourton It was more than a year later, May 1997, when an immigration official and a policeman visited him at his home. 00.12.37 Edward Stourton He was asked to attend an interview at Harwich police station. 00.12.43 Edward Stourton Under questioning Asur Saribal admitted using a false name when he applied for asylum. He said he'd feared being mistreated by the Turkish police if sent back to Turkey under his real name. 00.12.56 Edward Stourton Asur Saribal gave three main grounds for his asylum claim. He said he was involved with a left-wing terrorist group, Dev Sol. That he'd suffer if he went back as a failed asylum seeker and he'd dodged the draft because, he said, he was a Kurd. 00.13.14 Edward Stourton I came to find out whether the story he gave to the British immigration authorities would stand up to scrutiny. 00.13.19 Edward Stourton My journey to unravel his story turned out to be a way of testing our perceptions of Turkey, its politics and its justice system. 00.13.27 Edward Stourton Does it really deserve its image as an incorrigible abuser of human rights? 00.13.33 Music 00.13.50 Edward Stourton My journey began in the south-east, the corner of Turkey furthest from Europe in its culture as well as in miles on the map. 00.13.59 Edward Stourton Diyarbakir is at the centre of Turkey's Kurdish heartland. 00.14.01 Music 00.14.05 Edward Stourton Last time I was here the city was under military administration and the area was in the grip of a civil war between the Kurdish PKK and the Turkish army. 00.14.16 Edward Stourton It went on for fifteen years and an estimated thirty thousand people were killed. More than five thousand members of the security services died too. 00.14.25 Singing 00.14.31 Edward Stourton Turkey largely acquired its reputation for human rights abuses because of the way it fought this war. 00.14.37 Edward Stourton Hundreds of thousands of people were driven from their homes. Torture was commonplace. 00.14.42 Singing 00.14.48 Edward Stourton There are many claims for asylum from people here that can be justified. Sedat Yurtdas is a moderate Kurd politician who doesn't support violence. 00.14.57 Edward Stourton Things have become easier for him since the PKK declared a cease-fire in 1999 but he remembers all too vividly what it was like to be detained by the authorities here. 00.15.10 Aston SEDAT YURTDAS Kurdish politician Voice over You were made to take off your clothes and be beaten by cold pressurised water and clubs. Electric shocks were applied to the genitals, ears and nipples. Testicles were squeezed. This treatment was carried out on many people detained during that period. 00.15.34 Sedat Yurtdas Voice over You might well ask why ordinary non-political people were targeted. The aim of the authorities was to make people feel that they were in constant danger of losing their lives. It was a deliberate policy to destabilise society. 00.15.53 Singing 00.16.00 Edward Stourton Asur Saribal's family comes from further north, near the city of Erzincan, where the Munzur mountains rise in the midst of Anatolia. This whole area was caught up in the civil war. 00.16.11 Singing 00.16.19 Edward Stourton I came to find out whether the way he was remembered here matched the picture he gave to the British authorities. 00.16.24 Singing 00.16.32 Edward Stourton This is the Turkey that time forgot - an ancient Asian Turkey that seems scarcely to have been touched by the modernisers of the past century. 00.16.43 Edward Stourton In this town the Saribal family owned a shop and Asur's formative years were spent in the area. 00.16.57 Edward Stourton The village where Asur was born lies another twelve miles into the mountains. Two of Asur's cousins, Huseyin and Atilla, showed me round. 00.17.06 Edward Stourton It's a place of unrelenting poverty and everyone seems to want to escape to a better life. There used to be seventy families in the village, now there are just four. 00.17.21 Atilla Saribal Voice over That was Asur's house over there. The family weren't very well off. They could hardly make a living from farming. 00.17.31 Aston ATILLA SARIBAL Asur's cousin Voice over Finally, they left the village and moved to Istanbul. They're all working there now. If Asur had stayed here he'd have been in a worse state than us because he had less money. He wanted to go abroad for a better future. 00.17.51 Atilla Saribal Voice over Asur came to my house once and told me about Anna. He said that he loved her and that they'd leave together. 00.18.01 Edward Stourton It was here that the first cracks began to appear in Asur Saribal's story. 00.18.05 Edward Stourton In his evidence to the immigration tribunal he said he was detained and beaten up by the police for being a Yezidi, a member of a religious group, and that his family were persecuted because they were Kurds. 00.18.18 Edward Stourton Is the Saribal family a Kurdish family? 00.18.21 Aston HUSEYIN SARIBAL Asur's cousin Voice over Not Kurdish but Alawites. We're the real Turks but they call us Alawites. 00.18.26 Edward Stourton And has any member of the family been Yezidi? 00.18.30 Huseyin Saribal Voice over No, not at all. 00.18.34 Edward Stourton Asur told the British Immigration Authorities that he owned an electrical shop in this area, which was damaged by rioters. 00.18.41 Edward Stourton Did he have an electrical shop at any point? 00.18.44 Atilla Saribal Voice over No, he didn't. 00.18.48 Edward Stourton We've heard a suggestion that he had an electrical shop that was burnt down. 00.18.51 Atilla Saribal Voice over He didn't open an electrical store. 00.18.55 Edward Stourton There are abundant and obvious reasons why a young man might want to escape this desolation for a better future. 00.19.08 Edward Stourton Asur Saribal left Erzincan for the first time when he was just eleven. Istanbul beckoned and with it the chance of a decent education. 00.19.21 Edward Stourton He stayed with an uncle and he later claimed this was the period when he first became politically active. 00.19.30 Edward Stourton Going through the documents recording the information he gave to the British Immigration Authorities, I noticed that he claimed involvement with the left-wing revolutionary group Dev Sol whilst in Istanbul. 00.19.41 Edward Stourton Dev Sol's accused of committing nearly five hundred murders. The group operates underground; many of its members are terrorists. But I did find a point of contact to help assess Asur Saribal's evidence. 00.19.53 Music 00.20.08 Edward Stourton This band, Yorum, shares Dev Sol's revolutionary aims. 00.20.13 Edward Stourton Their concerts have often been targeted by the police and Asur Saribal said he was arrested while attending one of them. 00.20.19 Music 00.20.31 Edward Stourton Asur Saribal told the British Authorities that he spent a week in detention after a Yorum concert in April 1990. Have you got any record of that? 00.20.41 Aston HAKAN ALAK Yorum Voice over We keep records of our concerts in a diary. Here's a copy of it. In April 1990 we played a minor part in a festival. Neither the group nor any members of the audience were arrested. 00.21.02 Edward Stourton Are your records sufficiently detailed to show if something like that happened? 00.21.07 Hakan Alak Voice over There's an example of that here. Two secondary school students were taken to the state security court for listening to our tapes in October 1990. 00.21.17 Music 00.21.21 Edward Stourton Asur Saribal was in his fourth season working at the Hotel Melodi in Bodrum when he met Anna Galliano in 1995. 00.21.29 Edward Stourton Here I found even more striking discrepancies between the story he told in Britain and the memory of those who knew him. 00.21.38 Edward Stourton Asur Saribal said Dev Sol gave him fake identity papers under the name Erdal Aksoy. He said he once had to be rescued from the local police station and that the staff at the hotel where he worked knew about his dual identity. 00.21.50 Edward Stourton The Hotel Melodi, where Anna stayed, is owned by Arif Ceyhan. 00.21.59 Aston ARIF CEYHAN Owner, Hotel Melodi Voice over Asur was thinking of going to England. He had different ideas about how to get there through friends and marriage. After inflation went up in Turkey there were problems. There was unemployment so he tried to find a way out to save himself. 00.22.21 Edward Stourton While Asur Saribal was here did he ever use any other name? 00.22.29 Arif Ceyhan Voice over No, Asur didn't have any problems with his ID or with the police. I've never seen him presenting himself under a different name. He didn't need to. 00.22.44 Edward Stourton He never called himself Erdal Aksoy? 00.22.48 Arif Ceyhan Voice over Never. I wouldn't employ someone who uses a false name. I wouldn't employ him because he'd make me suspicious. 00.22.58 Edward Stourton And was there ever an occasion when you or one of your managers had to go to the police station and vouch for his good standing? 00.23.08 Arif Ceyhan Voice over No, never. I used to send Asur to deal with the police when there was any trouble with the customers in the bar. I would send Asur to the police station. 00.23.31 Edward Stourton If Asur Saribal really had been in trouble with the police and especially if he had any connections with Dev Sol, it would almost certainly be recorded here - Turkey's national police headquarters in the capital, Ankara. 00.23.43 Edward Stourton After all he said he was finger printed and photographed by the police and taken into custody on a number of occasions. 00.23.53 Akin Kucukbarak Voice over Enter Asur Saribal's ID information. 00.23.59 Edward Stourton Several Saribal's but no Asur. 00.24.02 Akin Kucukbarak No Asur. 00.24.03 Edward Stourton No Asur. So have you got any record at all of him being associated with either Dev Sol or the PKK? 00.24.10 Aston AKIN KUCUKBARAK Anti-Terrorist Division, Turkish Police Voice over If he had links to any terrorist group it would be recorded here - PKK, Dev Sol, DHKPC, Hezbollah. But this person is being sought for something else - for not serving in the army. 00.24.33 Edward Stourton So that part of Asur's story was true. He did dodge the draft but not it seems because he was a Kurd. The Tribunal's fear was that he'd be arrested and mistreated by the police if he returned to Turkey. 00.24.44 Edward Stourton If he came back to Turkey, presumably as a draft dodger, he'd be arrested? 00.24.50 Akin Kucukbarak Voice over Under Turkish law, if he's healthy he'll be sent to do his army service. So to be arrested by the police or questioned, no. 00.24.59 Edward Stourton There is some resentment here about what they see as the European stereotype of the Turkish police and European double standards. 00.25.08 Akin Kucukbarak Voice over There are many terrorists in Germany, Belgium, Holland and England; many of them are being sought by us. The people living in London have to live with terrorists. Why does the British government give asylum to anybody who says that he's a political criminal or terrorist? I wouldn't like to have an IRA terrorist living in my apartment block or in the next street. 00.25.37 Edward Stourton Much of the background to Asur Saribal's story is of course true. Human rights abuses by the Turkish police are well documented. 00.25.44 Edward Stourton The British Immigration Tribunal, which assessed Asur's case, refers to Turkey's human rights record again and again in its conclusions. 00.25.53 Edward Stourton But when you look closely at the documents one or two facts seem to have got mixed up. 00.26.01 Aston EDWARD STOURTON The Human Rights Foundation of Turkey records that Asur's cousin, Ali Saribal, died in Diyarbakir in 1981 while being held as a political prisoner. The evidence at Asur's asylum appeal was rather different. The tribunal accepted that it was Asur's father, not his cousin, who died in the notorious Diyarbakir prison and that weighed very heavily with them. They say; 'there are a number of uncontroverted facts, which we accept. The first one is his family was politically oriented to such an extent that his father was a political prisoner and died in jail'. Now that really is interesting because according to our information, Asur's father is alive and well and lives down the road here in Istanbul. 00.26.44 Edward Stourton We managed to track down the address of Asur's parents. His mother confirmed that his father is alive. 00.26.54 Edward Stourton What time this afternoon will he be here? 00.26.56 Asur's mother Subtitles He's gone to the café and you never know what time he'll be back. 00.27.01 Edward Stourton I checked the local cafes; Abidin Saribal is something of a regular it seems. Eventually I bumped into him outside his home. 00.27.10 Edward Stourton How often do you speak to him roughly? 00.27.13 Aston ABIDIN SARIBAL Asur's father Voice over He calls once every four to six months. We don't talk to each other more than that. 00.27.19 Edward Stourton Has he explained to you how he came to be granted asylum in Britain? 00.27.25 Abidin Saribal Voice over I've no idea about that. I'm too busy with my own life. 00.27.31 Edward Stourton The Asylum Tribunal was convinced that you had died under torture in Diyarbakir prison in 1981 and clearly you're here, very much alive. 00.27.41 Abidin Saribal Voice over Who died? I don't even know Diyarbakir. I've never been to Diyarbakir or any prison in my life. 00.27.51 Edward Stourton Did he ever have any political connections when he was in Turkey? 00.28.00 Abidin Saribal Voice over I've heard nothing about that. Do you think I'd have let him if I'd heard? 00.28.11 Aston SEDAT YURTDAS Kurdish politician Voice over Sometimes we hear about people who aren't directly involved in politics trying to make their asylum claims look political, even though they've left the country for economic reasons. We've often heard about such cases. 00.28.26 Edward Stourton With all that he claimed about the risks, you would have thought that the last thing Asur Saribal would do would be to return to Turkey. 00.28.32 Edward Stourton His journey to Anna Galliano's funeral is recorded in the files at Istanbul's Ataturk airport. 00.28.38 Edward Stourton But so astonishingly is another journey back home. The records show that he left Istanbul on the 20th October 1996, seven months after he'd applied for political asylum in Britain. 00.28.49 Edward Stourton So at a time when he said he was in danger of being seriously mistreated by the Turkish authorities, his actions suggest that he himself was confident about returning. 00.29.02 Edward Stourton In July 1997 Asur's asylum claim was refused by the Home Office. 00.29.07 Edward Stourton He tried to get the decision overturned but the appeal was rejected in 1999 as 'opportunistic invention'. But he tried again and his final appeal was successful in October last year. 00.29.22 Edward Stourton The Immigration Appellate Authority is responsible for the Immigration Tribunal, which granted Asur Saribal asylum. 00.29.28 Edward Stourton We had established that there's no evidence of his involvement with any political group. Nor is there anything to suggest that as a draft dodger and a failed asylum seeker his human rights would be abused. So why hadn't they? 00.29.40 Edward Stourton The Immigration Appellate Authority told us they cannot comment on individual cases. 00.29.45 Music 00.29.49 Edward Stourton The Immigration Tribunal did at least consider the issue of Anna's death. But they couldn't resolve the mystery of how she died. 00.29.57 Edward Stourton It is of course something that the Galliano family have been haunted by ever since. She'd been in good health and had no history of major illness. 00.30.05 Music 00.30.07 Edward Stourton Both her parents were tortured by the uncertainty and their marriage has broken down. 00.30.16 Mike Galliano Not knowing how she died does screw your head. She had a heart attack or she had a brain tumour or something like that, you can accept that 'cos they would have been ill. It really screws you up - not knowing. 00.30.34 Aston CAROL GALLIANO Anna's mother She had everything to live for; she was a lovely girl. She was the only one that had ever done anything with her life. She was at university and we've lost all that. Lost everything. We just want some answers. We just want to know why? 00.30.58 Music 00.31.02 Edward Stourton We have been re-examining the evidence that might explain what happened to Anna Galliano. 00.31.06 Music 00.31.10 Edward Stourton We went back to see one of the doctors who tried to save Anna's life. He has a vivid memory of the night of the 18th of December 1995. 00.31.20 Aston Dr SEYFETTIN KAR Voice over We informed the authorities and reported it as a suspicious death. You forget some patients very quickly but there are some that you never forget. All doctors have five or six patients throughout their careers that they'll never forget. She was one of them, probably because she was very young and I couldn't find any reason to explain her death. It's echoed in my mind ever since. Why did she die so soon when there was nothing to explain her death? 00.31.53 Edward Stourton Dr Sebnem Fincanci was soon asking the same question. 00.31.59 Edward Stourton She's the Professor of Forensic Medicine at the Istanbul hospital where the autopsy on Anna's body was performed. 00.32.08 Edward Stourton And she was head of a committee of medical experts with the job of assessing the post-mortem results in cases like this one. 00.32.16 Aston Dr SEBNEM FINCANCI Professor of Forensic Medicine I think the case was suspicious because death was too sudden. The members of the committee are all agreed about the case that this is a violent death and there is blunt trauma to the abdomen and the injuries and the bleeding is caused by a blunt trauma, an impact of a blunt object. 00.32.42 Edward Stourton And that it should be investigated further? 00.32.44 Dr Sebnem Fincanci And it should be investigated further. 00.32.50 Edward Stourton The Galliano family wanted it investigated further too and asked for another post-mortem before she was buried in 1996. 00.32.57 Edward Stourton It was carried out in Manchester by Doctor John Rutherford, a senior pathologist accredited to the Home Office. 00.33.04 Edward Stourton The autopsy didn't tell him what he wanted to know because vital evidence had gone as a result of the Turkish post-mortem. 00.33.17 Edward Stourton But when he finally got a copy of the Turkish autopsy report he immediately became suspicious. There was an eight centimetre tear in Anna Galliano's liver and her right kidney was bruised. 00.33.29 Aston Dr JOHN RUTHERFORD Pathologist The findings as I read them when the translation of the Turkish autopsy report came through were of course highly suspicious. Two litres of blood in the abdominal cavity with a tear in the liver is not a natural death. 00.33.47 Dr John Rutherford The sort of trauma that we see in this case is usually generated by blunt force as opposed to sharp force. And it's the sort of thing that we see in car accidents, when people have fallen from a height and when people have been stamped on or kicked in the abdomen, knelt on or even sat upon. 00.34.17 Edward Stourton But there was a complicating factor. There were no bruises on Anna's body - only the marks left by the defibrillator, the device used in cardiac resuscitation. 00.34.28 Dr John Rutherford It's not unusual in cases where we see damage to liver, stomach, pancreas, kidneys to have transmitted force which doesn't leave any mark on the outside. So if there were heavy force, for example, from kneeling then the force would be transmitted through to the solid organs such as the liver and tear it without leaving a mark on the outside. It's well recognised that this can occur. 00.35.01 Music 00.35.06 Edward Stourton In Istanbul in 1998, Asur Saribal was charged with the murder of Anna Galliano. 00.35.12 Edward Stourton But by then, almost three years had gone by since her death. 00.35.15 Music 00.35.22 Edward Stourton It only happened because of the zeal of a new district prosecutor who became interested in the case while looking through old files. 00.35.35 Aston SIKRET CEZIK District Prosecutor Voice over Asur and Anna were together. If Anna had been subjected to any kind of violence or if she had fallen or been hit by a third person or had a car accident she would have told Asur so. Asur doesn't mention anything like this in his statement. 00.36.04 Sikret Cezik Voice over The fact that Anna was in perfect health when she came from England and didn't see anyone other than Asur made me think that Asur may have done something violent to Anna. For that reason I thought Asur might have killed her so I prepared a file on it. 00.36.27 Edward Stourton That could have meant an end to Asur Saribal's chances of asylum in Britain. 00.36.31 Edward Stourton The Home Office lawyers could have asked for his claim to be dismissed because the UN's refugee convention says that if there are good reasons for considering someone committed a serious non-political crime, they're not eligible. 00.36.42 Edward Stourton But for some reason, the Home Office won't tell us why, they didn't. 00.36.51 Edward Stourton Asur Saribal's lawyers commissioned their own medical expert to investigate after he'd been charged with murder in Turkey. 00.36.58 Edward Stourton Doctor Ian Hill is a senior lecturer in forensic medicine at Guy's Hospital in London. And the Immigration Appeals Tribunal took his report very seriously indeed. 00.37.08 Edward Stourton Doctor Hill questioned the conclusions of the Turkish autopsy and pointed out that there could be another explanation for the damage to Anna's liver. 00.37.16 Aston Dr IAN HILL Senior Lecturer in Forensic Medicine The ruptured liver could have been caused by resuscitation. If, as in this case, resuscitation is prolonged and if also excess pressure is applied low down on the top of the abdomen and the bottom of the chest then you can rupture the liver. 00.37.35 Dr Ian Hill Once the liver is ruptured it will bleed and the amount of blood, which you find in any one particular case, depends upon the circumstances but you can get profuse bleeding into the abdominal cavity. 00.37.51 Aston Dr SEBNEM FINCANCI Professor of Forensic Medicine We can say that the bleeding should have begun before her arrival in the hospital because when she arrived in the hospital she was in a shocked state and she had hypertension, she had tachicardia and she was in an agitative state. And this hypertension, this agitative state, shocked state showed that she has been bleeding before arrival in the hospital. 00.38.21 Edward Stourton So the idea that the resuscitation caused the bleeding doesn't stand up to scrutiny? 00.38.27 Dr Sebnem Fincanci Because of the clinical manifestations in the hospital we do not think that the resuscitation injuries or the cardiac massage has caused this rupture and bleeding. 00.38.43 Edward Stourton There were no signs of drugs or alcohol in Anna's body and although she was taking painkillers they were ruled out as the cause of her death. 00.38.51 Edward Stourton But an alternative medical explanation was put forward - toxic shock syndrome. 00.38.56 Edward Stourton So we took the evidence to an independent medical witness of our own, Doctor David Abramovich, one of Britain's leading experts on the syndrome. 00.39.06 Aston Dr DAVID ABRAMOVICH Consultant Gynaecologist Toxic shock is a syndrome which has a number of symptoms that can be, that some people suffer from, men and women. Women sometimes associate it with menstruation and the use of a tampon but it is also associated in, following operations, following infection and seen in babies after burns and scalds and it is a very, very rare disease. 00.39.37 Dr David Abramovich She was menstruating but as women can menstruate up to twenty five percent of their life between the ages of twelve and fifty obviously other things can occur during the time that they are menstruating. The symptoms that have been described to me that I, or the symptoms that I read in the post-mortem report just do not add up to a diagnosis of toxic shock syndrome. 00.40.00 Aston Dr IAN HILL Senior Lecturer in Forensic Medicine Even when we have all the information that is possible about a particular individual, there are occasions when we cannot give an answer as to the cause of death and I think this case falls into that category, that we will not be able to say exactly how this young lady died. 00.40.20 Aston Dr JOHN RUTHERFORD Pathologist It's always difficult to be absolutely certain of anything in medicine and that applies to pathology as well as the other branches of medicine. The benchmark against which I measure these things is to consider those standards administered in court when a jury has to be satisfied beyond any reasonable doubt as to what has happened. In this case I'm satisfied beyond my own reasonable doubt that Anna suffered a traumatic death from blunt force injury to the abdomen. 00.41.03 Dr Ian Hill If I was advising the prosecution in this particular case I would have to admit that there were serious doubts about the cause of death and therefore I would find it difficult to support the suggestion that she had been murdered. 00.41.23 Edward Stourton If Asur Saribal went back to Turkey he would face a murder charge. But as to mistreatment - he wouldn't even be held in custody while the case is being considered. 00.41.34 Edward Stourton The decisive moment in his case is likely to come next month at this court in Istanbul. 00.41.39 Edward Stourton The panel of judges could rule that the case against him should be dropped for lack of evidence or they could order a full murder trial. Extradition proceedings, if indeed it reaches that stage, would come much further down the line. 00.41.52 Edward Stourton We asked Asur Saribal to appear on the programme but he declined. He issued a written statement saying: 00.41.59 Edward Stourton "I'm not willing to be part of your television programme. My asylum claim is confidential between me and the United Kingdom government. In relation to the tragic death of Anna Marie Galliano I believe that proceedings may well be discontinued against me in the near future. I have pleaded not guilty to the charge of murder and maintain my innocence in this matter." 00.42.22 Edward Stourton Here in Britain those in charge of the immigration system have shown a marked reluctance to talk about this case. Last year over seventy six thousand people applied for asylum in Britain, nearly four thousand from Turkey. 00.42.34 Edward Stourton At a time of intense debate about asylum the Saribal case raises fundamental questions about what checks and controls there are over those who ask for Britain's protection. 00.42.47 Edward Stourton Asur Saribal married an English woman in 1997. They have two children and live in the south of England. 00.42.57 Music 00.43.06 Edward Stourton Most of those familiar with the case in Britain and Turkey agree there's not enough evidence to secure a conviction in a murder trial. 00.43.15 Edward Stourton But for Anna Galliano's family the British asylum system has been put in the dock and found wanting. 00.43.23 Music 00.43.24 Edward Stourton The only legacy she was able to leave them was a question that may never be answered. 00.43.30 End Music 00.43.36 Credits www.bbc.co.uk/correspondent Reporter EDWARD STOURTON Camera VAUGHAN MATTHEWS Sound Recordist NEIL ELPHINSTONE Dubbing Mixer BOB JACKSON VT Editor BOYD NAGLE Graphic Design NICOLA OWEN Production Team ASTRA CURZON JULIA DANNENBERG RACHALE DAVIES ANJANA SHARMA Production Manager JANE WILLEY Unit Manager IRENE OZGA Film Research NICK DODD Research JO DUTTON VIRGINIA MUCCHI SOMNUR VARDAR Picture Editor DAVID HOWELL Produced & Directed by ROBIN BARNWELL Executive Producer FARAH DURRANI 00.44.02 Series Producer KATE SNELL (c)BBC MMI 00.44.06 End 1 BBC Correspondent 21 26