British comedian faces up to three years in a Turkish prison after she forgot to pay at a Zara store
A British comedian faces up to three years in Turkish prison after walking out of a Zara store without paying – despite going back to apologise when she realised her mistake.
Cerys Nelmes, a stand-up comic from the Cotswolds, was shopping at the clothing store in Istanbul on July 22 when she says she absentmindedly left before ringing up her purchases.
She claims she returned to the store to hand back the items and offered to pay, but was instead detained, locked in a room for hours without explanation, and eventually arrested for shoplifting.
Ms Nelmes said she was taken to a police station, pressured to sign documents in a language she could not read, and held in a cell for 24 hours with no food, toilet or water.
The comedian, who once played a paramedic in medical drama Casualty, said: ‘I was told they didn’t understand me.’
The next day, she was brought before a judge who released her but banned her from leaving the country.
She now faces a potential three-year sentence as the case proceeds.
Nelmes says she is stranded in Turkey, unable to afford accommodation and missing out on work back home, putting her and her son at risk of losing their UK home.
British comedian Cerys Nelmes (pictured), from the Cotswolds, was arrested after walking out of a Zara store in Turkey without paying – in what she says was an innocent mistake
Ms Nelmes claims she returned to the store to hand back the items and offered to pay, but was instead detained, locked in a room for hours without explanation, and eventually arrested for shoplifting
Nelmes now says she is stranded in Turkey, unable to afford accommodation and missing out on work back home, but posted on Instgram to say she had been taken in by a Turkish family