regret that Turkey's image was negatively affected by the film. Hayes also displayed affection for Turkey and the city of Istanbul. Although the Interpol warrant for him had by then been lifted, Hayes explained that while he wanted to return, he hesitated to do so, out of concern that many Turks might blame him for the negative publicity the movie had generated. The video was made available on YouTube. The Turkish order banning him from the country was finally suspended and Hayes was allowed to return to Turkey on June 14, 2007, to attend the 2nd Istanbul Conference on Democracy and Global Security, organized by the Turkish National Police (TNP) and the Turkish Institute for Police Studies (TIPS). Hayes said it was important to him to return, in order to "apologize and 'make amends' – not for the book he wrote, but for the movie, scripted by Oliver Stone, on which it was based. 'The film wasn't what Turkish people deserved,' Hayes told reporters at a jammed June 15 press conference, explaining that it painted an unfairly bleak portrait of the country." See also List of fugitives from justice who disappeared References External links "Riding the Midnight Express with Billy Hayes" website 1947 births Living people 20th-century American criminals American cannabis traffickers American escapees American memoirists American people imprisoned abroad Cannabis in Turkey Criminals from New York City Escapees from Turkish detention People convicted of cannabis offenses Turkey–United States relations Writers from New York City Marquette University alumni