On August 29th, 2025, my 25-year-old daughter Tiffany was arrested in Istanbul, Turkey, on the layover flight going from Los Angeles to Berlin, Germany.

A person whom she met on Instagram weeks prior suggested that they go on a trip to Germany together, and he had asked her to check in his bags under her name. She never touched the bags and didn't know what was inside. As she later learned, after the arrest, it contained a few marijuana products. The guy himself was carrying a twice smaller amount in his luggage.

Unfortunately, possessing such amounts of this substance is a serious matter in Turkey. The potential sentence for my daughter is decades of imprisonment.

On August 30th, Tiffany appeared before the prosecutor and pleaded not guilty, unaware of the contents of the bags. After that, she was sent to Bakırköy Women's Closed Prison in Istanbul, Turkey.

Tiffany is the first American the prison ever had. She immediately received a nickname, America, or sometimes some women call her Trump.

The majority of the prisoners only speak Turkish. In her block with a few women, only one knows just 10 words of English. It’s very hot inside and no AC. Tap water is unsafe to drink, and many people have been poisoned after drinking it.

After we hired an attorney, she was moved to a new block with some people speaking English. She has been sleeping on the bunk bed, using the mattress and a blanket.

The toilets are squatting style in a hole, and you use water from the sink to flush them with a bucket.

Nothing is free in prison. You have to buy everything from the store inside: a food bowl, soap, towel, toilet paper, shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, water bottles, etc. You select items from the catalogue in Turkish by Thursday and can pick up items on Friday.

Since the police confiscated Tiffany’s prescription medication for depression and anxiety, she was feeling very, very bad and had multiple panic attacks. Thankfully, women in her cell helped her through it by expressing empathy and calming her down.

Tiffany misses home, her family, friends, and her cat Calissa terribly. She still thinks she is going home soon. She doesn’t know the truth yet. She might be heartbroken, just as I was when the attorneys told me that she might get decades of tears and suffering. I couldn’t stop crying for a few days, and sitting in this enormous, heavy pain about my daughter’s stolen life.

She can’t call overseas yet, because paid calls are only allowed to Turkish numbers. The US Consulate will arrange calls for her to me after submitting some paperwork and a request for approval.

A close family member can visit once a week for 30 min.

She can’t keep letters delivered by attorneys. Only allowed to read it live, and the letter is discarded after. However, you can mail her letters with pictures. Mailed letters are allowed to be kept.

There is a possibility to send her money into the facility so she can buy toothpaste, soap, shampoo, or a snack, or make a call. But you can only do it from a Vakif bank in Turkey by providing a Turkish ID and using Turkish Lira currency only.

I have already involved the US Consulate in Turkey and engaged criminal defense counsel, and they will defend her as best as they can, but the cost would be enormous and would take time. Even if you are innocent, you could be on trial for up to a year while sitting in prison.

Please help as much as you can to cover the cost of the attorneys and some of Tiffany's needs there. Every dollar makes a difference in easing the burden and bringing hope to Tiffany and her family during this difficult time. Thank you.

Liliya