Turhan Çömez shared his years in exile with Haberler.com: If I had gone to prison, I wouldn't have come out alive.

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İYİ Party Group Deputy Chairman Op. Dr. Turhan Çömez was the guest of Gökay Kalaycıoğlu, the host of the "Haber Bahane" program published on Haberler.com. Çömez, who was tried in 2008 with a request for aggravated life imprisonment and 15 years in prison as part of the Ergenekon investigation but could not be caught because he was studying language in England, returned to Turkey after being acquitted in 2019 and shared all the details of the dark period he experienced. Çömez explained all the details of the dark period he experienced.

"A MONTH LATER, MY NEPHEW CALLED SAYING 'THE POLICE RAIDED THE HOUSE'"

Çömez stated that he went to England to learn the language by obtaining a visa during a period when he was depressed, saying, "A month passed, and I received a phone call. My nephew, who is also my lawyer, said, 'Uncle, the police raided the house.'" he said.

"THIS STAY TURNED INTO A 12-YEAR EXILE"

Çömez expressed that he learned he was placed in a frame-up case, saying, "Since I know Erdoğan well, I know this structure and this group well, and I know what it will lead to in the future, I continued to stay in England for a while longer, and this stay turned into a 12-year exile."

"I SLEPT IN BANKS IN ENGLAND"

Turhan Çömez, expressing that he went through very difficult days in England, said, "The visa expired. The English do not grant residency. They say, 'Go back to your country.' It is not possible for me to return. If I return, I will somehow stay in prison in Turkey for a long time, and my life will end. During that time, I slept on the streets. I slept on benches. I sold tickets at train stations to hold on to life."

"I STAYED IN ENGLISH PRISONS"

Çömez stated that officials from the Ministry of Justice of Turkey came to England for his extradition at one point, saying, "I stayed in English prisons for a while. I stayed in prison in England. I took the then British Home Secretary to court to obtain residency. By convicting him, I was able to obtain residency."

"THE CASE ENDED WITH ACQUITTAL"

Çömez, explaining that he rebuilt his medical career from scratch by taking exams in England, said, "The day of the verdict in the Ergenekon case came. My nephew called me and said, 'Congratulations, uncle. The case ended with acquittal. You can now return to Turkey.' A new period had begun for me."

"I WAS WANTED AS A TERRORIST WITH A RED BULLETIN FOR 12 YEARS JUST BECAUSE I SAID 'DON'T DO IT, DON'T STEAL'"

Çömez, who said he came to Turkey by land after the acquittal, recounted an incident he experienced at the Serbian border with the following words:

"Right at the border entry, they looked at my passport. Suddenly, there were 50 armed men around me... I was shocked. 'What's going on?' I said. 'We will take you inside,' they said. Okay, please, I went inside. I was confident that there was no problem. It turned out that the wanted records had not been removed from there, and I was still wanted as an international terrorist. Then the truth came out. This was also a very important experience for me. Just because I said, 'Don't do it, don't steal, don't sell the future of this country to someone, think about the future of our children,' I was wanted as a terrorist with an international red bulletin for 12 years, even though I had no fault, no sin."

"IF I HAD ENTERED A PRISON IN TURKEY, I WOULD NOT HAVE COME OUT ALIVE"

In response to Gökay Kalaycıoğlu's question, "If you hadn't gone to language school and had been arrested in a police raid, could you have endured prison life?" Turhan Çömez said, "I don't know, but we wouldn't be doing this program. Because it was impossible for me to come out alive from that prison. I know that."