TURKEY tr-national

Midnight Express author apologizes to Turkey

ISTANBUL – Daily news with Vatan | 6/29/2010 12:00:00 AM |

Billy Hayes, the author of the book “Midnight Express,” has apologized to Turkey for the portrayal of Turks in the book and in the subsequent movie of the same name.

Billy Hayes, the author of the book “Midnight Express,” has apologized to Turkey, saying he regrets the portrayal of Turks in the book and in the subsequent movie of the same name, the daily Vatan reported Tuesday.

Arrested in 1970 for smuggling drugs, Hayes was kept in Sağmalcılar Prison in Istanbul and later wrote a book recounting his experiences there.

The book was made into a 1978 movie based on a script by Oliver Stone and directed by Alan Parker.

The movie was harshly criticized at that time for picturing all Turks as bad people and for the graphic torture scenes in prison.

“There was even not one good Turk in the movie. But the truth was not like that,” Hayes said in a documentary movie on the National Geographic channel, adding that not all his memories in Turkey were negative and that he still loved Istanbul.

Stone, who won an Academy Award for the film, also apologized during a visit to the country in 2004 for the portrayal of Turks in the movie.