Turkey grants bail for U.S. student charged with drug smuggling

ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) Loretta J. Dooley, 18, an American exchange student charged with drug smuggling, was ordered released on bail yesterday in an unexpected Christmas present. But she returned to the gray and cold Sagmalcilar prison until the $1,500 bail is posted.

Miss Dooley, of Tracy, Calif., is expected to spend another day or two in jail.

She appeared before the three-

member Istanbul Second Criminal Court in the second-hearing since she was arrested Aug. 1 with nine grams of hashish.

She exclaimed "Hooray" when an interpreter relayed to her, as, she was guarded by two soldiers on a wooden bench, that the chief judge heeded a defense plea for her release pending trial.

"This girl is only 18 and came to Turkey as part of an exchange student system that requires high

intelligence as a standard,” a oman lawyer argued during the one-hour session.

"Furthermore," the lawyer stressed, "today is Christmas, and it is an important day for Christians throughout the world.”

Miss Dooley embraced friends. and U.S. officials after the announcement.

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In Tracy, her father, Vernon Dooly, said "it's a very merry Christmas," when told "the news.

He said he was sure the girl would be allowed to leave Turkey. Her next hearing was set for Feb. 5.

She has spent almost three months in the women's section of the 2,500-capacity prison complex on the outskirts of Istanbul.

In past interviews, she bitterly complained about conditions in her living quarters and said she was "even approached" by lesbian inmates at one time. Prison autorities claimed everything was being done

"to prevent unhealthy relations."

Miss Dooley, who arrived in Turkey as part of an American Field Service exchange program,

was seized by narcotics police after a tip that she would attempt to mail hashish in an envelope.

In her testimony to the court, she denied that she ever tried to smuggle hashish but said the spiked cigarettes were "for my personal consumption."

She said the cigarettes accidentally got into the parcel addressed to her home address.

The prosecutor demanded a 10year prison term for her on grounds she "attempted to smuggle," a charge that carries a heavier punishment than possession for personal use

Legal sources also said Miss Dooley may benefit from a prisoner exchange treaty now before the Turkish parliament.