Sobering Stories of Wayward Travels

[Kyle H. Albert]

Simply put, travelling abroad is one of the most enriching endeavours any person could undertake. The adventures savoured and experiences gained in exploring different areas of the world will definitely end up as irreplaceable and unforgettable memories. That said, there’s no denying that the simple and straightforward act of setting out and experiencing the world is fraught with numerous risks and unforeseen pitfalls. From misplaced luggage and stolen items to shady local drivers and sketchy maps, these are just some of the things that can put a damper on an otherwise fine trip. And unfortunately, some travellers have experienced far worse. Indeed, numerous cases have emerged of people who have been arrested without prior notice and detained without even being guaranteed a fair trial – all in a foreign country. Listed below are just a couple of harrowing tales of overseas incarceration and pre-trial detention.

The Ghana Girls

In July 2007, Yetunde Diya and Yasemin Vatansever – two 16-year-old British school girls – decided to go on a holiday trip in Ghana with a male acquaintance they had met previously. This particular acquaintance had a cousin who offered to sponsor the holiday trip. After touching down in an airport located in the Ghanan capital of Accra, the two girls were given laptop bags by their escorts to bring along for their holiday trip. On their way home, one of the escorts would return the laptop bags to the two girls with noticeably added weight.

Regrettably, the two girls went through Ghanan customs without looking into their considerably heavier laptop bags. Ghanan customs eventually inspected the laptop bags only to find out that six kilograms of cocaine were sneakily hidden in the interior linings.

Despite their age and lack of any previous criminal record, the two girls were arrested and detained by Ghana’s Narcotics Control Board. Shockingly, the two girls were found guilty of attempting to smuggle cocaine. A January 23, 2008 report from the BBC notes that the two girls could have been given the maximum three-year sentence, essentially locking them up in a juvenile detention facility until the middle of 2010. It’s also worth noting that the preceding investigation was marred by serious flaws, including the alleged improper handling of evidence.

Thankfully, each of the two girls only received a one-year sentence to be served in a rehabilitation institution – under Ghanan law their sentence could be reduced to nine months, with good behaviour. This verdict was given after a Ghanan court followed the recommendation of social workers in setting a relatively short sentence to the 16-year-olds.

Catherine Wolthuizen, who served as the international chief executive of UK-based human rights charity Fair Trials International at the time, expressed regret that the actual culprits of the drug trade in Ghana have yet to be caught or prosecuted – all while two innocent 16-year-old school girls had to suffer the terrible consequences of imprisonment and a spurious criminal record. All told, the two girls were finally released to return home to the UK on April 18, 2008.

Tracey Molamphy

In the spring of 2008, 40-year-old British secretary Tracey Molamphy was arrested on a European Arrest Warrant (EAW) at Munich Airport while catching a connecting flight in Germany after spending a holiday trip in Greece. Upon her arrest in Germany, she was strip-searched and detained for 14 straight days in a cramped cell shared with a heroin addict.

Molamphy was eventually informed that her detention (and subsequent extradition to Portugal) was all due to a previous arrest which happened way back in 1996. A November 5, 2011 report from The Telegraph states that the incident involved her former partner’s inadvertent use of around £120 of counterfeit British currency while the couple were on holiday in Portugal way back in 1996. The couple were detained for 24 hours before being released without charge, or so they thought.

During her detention, Molamphy was left with no choice but to seek counsel from three separate teams of lawyers (in Germany, England, and Portugal) – all adding up to more than £20,000 in legal fees. Molamphy successfully challenged the charges and was not extradited to Portugal, where she faced up to five years in jail if convicted. A Portugal News Online article confirms that Molamphy decided to sue the Portuguese authorities in November 2011 for wrongful arrest and mental anguish. 

Image courtesy of jcaragones via flickr