Interview by Bircan Unver

Fugen Gulertekin is now Inmate Number 42100 at the Ohio Reformatory for Women in Marysville, Ohio. She has been there for about two years, and unless she can raise enough money for the necessary legal fees, she will be there for another six years.

What crime was Fugen Gulertekin accused of?
Hurting a child in her day care center on June 12, 1997 -- "shaken baby syndrome."

What was Fugen really "guilty" of?
Being in the wrong place at the wrong time and being from Turkey.

This is her story, as explained by Fugen from prison in written responses to my written questions. I also talked with Fugen on the phone once. Before contacting her, I had read about Fugen's story in several sources: Haluk Sahin's articles in the daily Radikal newspaper; Mr. Sahin's book, "Elektronik Prangali Kadin/ A Woman with an Electronic Fetter", and Dogan Uluc's reports and interviews in the daily Hurriyet newspaper. After reading the book and learning many aspects of her story, I was convinced that I had to do something in order to help her. I hope that this interview will be a bridge between you, the reader, and Fugen.

Fugen needs your support in order to re-open her case and prove her innocence.

BU: You were accused of hurting a child you were caring for in your child care center in your home -- can you tell us how that child came to be in your care?

FG: In December of 1996 Mr. Stephen Lape and Mrs. Christine Lape contacted me. Christine was pregnant. They wanted to arrange for me to care for their child after the child was born. At that time I was running my own child care center, which was named FES Morning Dew. FES stands for Fugen's Educational System.

Patrick Lape was born on January 17, 1997. At the end of January I went to visit the new parents to congratulate them. Christine was intending to go back to work on May 21, and they wanted me to start taking care of Patrick at that time.

One day in March of 1997, while I was feeding the children their snacks at about 10 AM, the doorbell rang. It was Christine Lape, carrying Patrick. Christine was crying and looked like a ghost. I invited her in.

Christine told me that Patrick was crying all the time, that she had post-partum depression, and that she didn't know what to do. She was highly stressed out.

That evening, I went to visit the husband and wife together to convey the message to the father that his wife needed some relief from her stress.

In order to answer their questions about why Patrick was crying so much and what could be done, I needed to observe Patrick, so we arranged for him to start coming to FES Morning Dew once a week for a while before Christine was scheduled to go back to work.

Looking back at what happened after that, I have so many questions. For example, as part of my contract with parents, I require parents to give me information on any known allergies or illnesses. They must also provide a statement from the child's pediatrician. Why didn't the Lapes do this? And looking back, it seems pretty clear that Patrick had some sort of mental retardation as well as some physical problems, and that the close family knew about these things. Why didn't they let me know?

FG: By that time, Patrick was coming to me five days a week. Early in the afternoon, he threw up. He didn't have the normal reflexes of a baby, so he was choking. He stopped breathing. First I tried to clear the stuff out of his mouth with my fingers, and then I did CPR. In the meantime, 911 was called. Patrick stopped breathing again, and I did everything again. When he stopped breathing the third time, I knew this was not just a baby throwing up, but something more serious. Finally EMS came and took Patrick the hospital.

I had saved Patrick's life by doing CPR when he was choking. But I was accused of intentionally hurting the baby, which of course could be a crime. My life and my family's life changed 180 degrees that day and has not been back to normal since.

BU: Why would anyone think you hurt the child?

FG: The prosecution said that Patrick cried a lot, which is true -- that's one reason why Christine Lape was so eager to bring him to me, because she could not deal with his crying so much. She was a first-time mom and was going through post-partum depression. I was helping her and her husband to try to figure out why he was crying so much and to see what could be done to decrease his crying. We were making a lot of progress on that while Patrick was in my day care center.

So the prosecution was telling the truth when they said Patrick cried a lot. But then the prosecution made up a story about what happened on June 12. They said that I shook the baby and hit the baby to make him stop crying. That's ridiculous! I have been taking care of babies and children for over 25 years, and I have a master's degree in early childhood development. I know how to take care of babies, and I would never hurt a child. Patrick could have been hurt before he was brought to me that day, but I did not hurt him.

BU: Did you think you might be convicted?

FG: No, for two reasons. First, I am innocent, and in the United States the rule is that someone is presumed innocent until proven guilty. Second, my attorney told me that the prosecution did not have enough evidence and that therefore the jury would not find me guilty.

BU: Why do you think you were prosecuted for something you never did and then convicted?

FG: From the beginning I was discriminated against because I am from Turkey and am a muslim. When people in the United States think of Turkey they often think of the Ottoman Empire, which once was a threat to Western Europe and to Christianity. Americans also think of the movie "Midnight Express" and other stereotypical images of Turks as barbarians. Religion is also a factor. In the United States there are many Christians and also many Jews, but Islam is viewed as a foreign and somewhat strange religion. For these reasons, many people would believe any bad thing that was said about a Turk.

There were also many people or groups who had something to gain if I was convicted. First, Patrick's parents could blame me for their child's problem. If the jury said I was guilty, no one would look to see whether there might be some other explanation or some other guilty party. The parents are from politically and socially powerful families in Columbus. They have strong connections with the TV stations and newspaper in Columbus.

The Columbus newspaper used the prejudice that already existed against foreigners -- especially people from countries and religions that were considered particularly "non-western" -- to paint me as a monster. Articles in the newspaper said many false things about Turks and about me. A common practice of plugging a child's ears and tilting his head back to open his airways was portrayed as a backward third world torture technique. The newspaper also invented a total fabrication, stating that we Turks throw kids on the floor to get them breathing again!

The newspaper also portrayed me as someone to be feared. "Fugen is coming home, parents are moving," said one headline. All these newspaper articles alienated me from society in the Columbus suburb of Bexley too. The negative publicity started to surface in aggressive outbursts. Students -- from elementary school age to high school age -- who passed by my house shouted "baby shaker." People threw eggs at my house once and fruits another time. Because of the media, a woman who had lived a very secluded, humble life and who was no one was turned into Public Enemy Number One.

The second person who had something to gain by my conviction was one of the Bexley police detectives. He had a grudge against me because I had filed a complaint against him in the past.

Third, the trial judge -- Judge O'Neill -- was up for election. In Columbus, many voters like judges who look like they are "tough on crime." So if I was convicted and she gave me a long sentence, she would be more likely to be re-elected.

Fourth, the doctors who testified against me had something to gain. They would be on the good side of the people who were politically powerful if they testified against me, and they were also doing research on the so-called "shaken baby syndrome" and wanted to make a name for themselves in that field.

BU: You were sentenced to eight years in prison. Even if you were really guilty of hurting the child, that seems like a long prison sentence, considering the fact that the child was not killed and that you were never before convicted of any crime. Was that the only sentence he judge could have given for that crime?

FG: No. That was the maximum -- she could have given me a much lighter sentence -- even a year or less, I think. Many people who are guilty of killing someone get a shorter sentence. Again, a long sentence was good for the judge's reputation. And when she set bail, she set it at ten million dollars! That was more than O. J. Simpson's bail. It was reduced by the appeals court, so I was able to finally get out on bail, but ten million dollars is a frightening amount of money.

BU: Wasn't there another "shaken baby" case in the United States around that time -- the Boston Nany case, involving Louise Woodward?

FG: Yes, and that was very unfortunate for me. She had just been set free right before my trial. A lot of Americans were very angry, because they thought she was guilty of killing the baby she was taking care of. She was a foreign babysitter who "got away with murder." So they wanted to make sure another foreign babysitter didn't get away with hurting a child.

BU: When you were held under "house arrest," with an electronic monitor on your ankle, what did you think of what was going on at the time?

FG: I felt like I was in the middle of a tornado -- a tornado that came unannounced and tore my family and me apart from our roots. The trial was a total fabrication and charade. The newspaper articles demonstrated a purposeful massacre of my character and of me.

At the beginning I was sure my appeal was going to turn around. I had saved the child's life. The whole case was based on constant lies by the prosecution. It was a mistake that had to be corrected. I thought I was dealing with low, bad-intentioned people. As a "virgin" citizen confronted with the criminal justice system, I thought justice meant justice. Now I know that the justice system is a socially corrupt system that works for the wealthy and well-connected but sacrifices the powerless, including minorities and women. Marysville prison is full of innocent women.

Note:
In order to support Fugen Gulertekin, you may send your checks to below address or wire transfer from inside or outside the country:

TRUST FUND FOR FUGEN:
Checks should be made out to: Fugen Gulertekin Trust Fund and sent to:
Nancy S. Erickson, Esq.
172 5th Avenue #31
Brooklyn, NY 11217

Or wire transfers from inside or outside the country to:

CITIBANK
114 Seventh Avenue
Brooklyn, New York, 11215
ABA: 021000089
Account No: 92484603

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