A British boxer is facing 33 years in a Turkish prison for an alleged vicious assault on a taxi driver. The Brit said he had acted in panic after fearing he was being kidnapped, while the victim said the attack was prompted by a dispute over the fare.
The incident happened in Eyupsultan on April 25 this year and has now gone to court. The case is being tried at the at the 18th High Criminal Court at the Caglayan courthouse in Istanbul. Taxi driver Kadir Bicer, 56, picked up British national Ross Kitchen at Istanbul Airport to take him into the city, according to prosecutors.
Images recorded by a dashcam show the Brit becoming increasingly agitated in the back of the car, before suddenly attacking the cabbie as they made their way along the highway.
The boxer slips one arm around Bicer’s throat and uses the other to twist his face towards his mouth. He then pokes his fingers into the victim’s eyes, blinding him while they are in the midst of traffic.
Seconds later, Kitchen is seen grappling on the tarmac with the terrified driver, who had managed to stop the car and briefly escape the clutches of his assailant.
A fellow cabbie spotted Bicer lying injured and unconscious on the roadside, after Kitchen had left him for dead. The man called for help, alerting both paramedics and the police, who rushed to the scene.
The British box was later arrested by police and remanded in custody until his trail.
He told the court that he suffers from panic attacks and claimed: “I wasn’t feeling well even before coming to Turkey. I thought I was being kidnapped. That’s why I attacked.”
For his part, Bicer alleged the attack was provoked by a dispute over the fare and that the Brit made off with 60,000 Turkish lira (£1,094) and €45 (£45) from his car and pocket.
The victim also claimed he had suffered lasting lasting damage to his health, saying: “Part of my face is still numb, I can’t see from one eye, I lost some movement, and at night I wake up screaming. I want justice.”