It felt like a dream come true. A two-week luxury vacation in Thailand, every bit as glamorous as the ones seen in magazines and on influencers' social media feeds: staying at the Intercontinental Hotel in Bangkok, day trips, massages, endless shopping, etc. Ibtissem B. and Mariam N., two friends who had just barely turned 20, enjoyed the tourist high life without spending a cent, all funded by a generous organizer who repeatedly topped up their spending money.
The dream ended abruptly in the corridors of Istanbul's international airport on February 28, during their layover on the way back to France. That day, Turkish customs agents searched their suitcases, which were packed with several dozen kilos of cannabis resin. The two friends were immediately arrested and detained pending their trial.
The trial opened in an Istanbul court on Thursday, September 11. This preliminary hearing is mainly intended to review the still-unclear case, consider what course the local prosecutor's office might take in the investigation and assess the conditions in which the women are incarcerated.
The trial represents a highly stressful moment for the two friends from the Paris region, who are currently being held in a women's prison in Marmara, located on the west side of the Bosphorus. They face up to 17 years in prison, under the very strict provisions for drug trafficking offenses in Turkey's penal code.
