Swiss consul’s wife barred from leaving Turkey

ISTANBUL – Doğan News Agency

DHA photo

Andrea Köppel, the wife of the Swiss consul and head of chancery, is now barred from leaving Turkey and required to sign in at a police station weekly following an alleged hit-and-run incident that wounded two.

A Swiss consular car, with Swiss Consul Florian Köppel’s wife in the driver’s seat, allegedly hit a married couple in Istanbul’s Bebek neighborhood. Andrea Köppel allegedly fled the scene after crashing into a motorcycle on which 49-year-old Doğan Durmuş İnal and his wife, Filiz İnal, were riding. Doğan Durmuş İnal suffered from minor injuries. Filiz İnal, however, was badly wounded and was taken to Şişli Etfal Hospital.

Köppel denied accusations of fleeing the scene, however, witness accounts stated otherwise.

The court today barred her from leaving Turkey and required her to sign in at a police station every Friday.