Wrongfully jailed in France for 2 yrs, Kochi man is finally home; prayer kept him sane

Kochi: For nearly two years, every night inside a prison in Marseille in Southern France ended the same way for Malayali truck driver Disny D Joseph – with sleeping pills.

The screams of inmates, violent fights echoing through prison corridors and the uncertainty of whether he would ever see his family again had made sleep impossible. Even after finally returning home to Kumbalangi in Kochi a few days ago, the 42-year-old still wakes up at odd hours.

“I can’t sleep normally anymore,” Disny told Onmanorama.

On June 19, Disny finally returned home. His  ordeal began with one of France’s biggest cocaine seizures and ended with investigators concluding that the Malayali truck driver had committed no crime.

A nightmare that began with a sealed trailer
On June 14, 2024, Disny and his friend Antony Shaji, both natives of Kumbalangi and employed by Slovakian transport company Yaras Air Cargo, were driving a sealed trailer from Spain to Italy when French Customs officers intercepted the vehicle.

Hidden inside the cargo was 147 kg of cocaine. The two drivers insisted they had no knowledge of the drugs.

Despite their claims, both were arrested and jailed on charges of international drug trafficking. French investigators later concluded there was no evidence linking either driver to the smuggling racket. All charges against the two men were dropped. While Disny has returned home, Shaji is expected to return to Kerala after renewing his expired passport.

Freedom is everything
Prison, Disny says, changes a person in ways words cannot fully explain. “The staff treated us well. The food was good. Doctors treated us properly. But none of that mattered because I had lost my freedom. That was the real punishment,” he said.

The first few weeks were unbearable. Sleep evaded him. Doctors eventually referred him to psychiatrists. During the early months of imprisonment, heavy sedatives kept him asleep for nearly 18 hours at a stretch. Lying on one side for so long damaged his shoulder, leaving him unable to lift heavy objects. 

Ironically, prison improved other aspects of his health. The regulated diet brought his diabetes, cholesterol and blood pressure under control, while doctors helped him quit smoking and drinking through medication and nicotine patches.

Life soon settled into a monotonous routine of breakfast, lock-up, exercise, lunch, dinner and lock-up again, with days blurring into months. To cope, he enrolled in French language classes inside the prison and slowly learned enough to communicate with prison staff. “I completed my Diploma in French and scored A1 grade,” he said.

Prayer became another source of strength. “I started reading the Bible every day. Earlier my mind was always restless. Prison taught me patience.”

A memory he cannot erase
Of everything he witnessed in prison, one incident continues to haunt him. A 22-year-old French inmate in a neighbouring cell had fallen into depression after his wife sought a divorce.

One afternoon, while his cellmate was away for exercise, the young man tied bedsheets together and hanged himself from the prison window. The tragedy shook the entire prison. “When they opened the cell, he was hanging there. I can never forget that,” Disny said.

 Despite being imprisoned in a drug case, fellow inmates later tried to recruit him into a narcotics network operating inside the prison.

“My first roommate packed several small packets and asked me to deliver them during exercise time.” When Disny refused, the inmate first threatened him and then tried to bribe him with money, better food and even an iPhone.

“I knew they could hurt me. I had seen inmates beaten brutally and even murdered. But somehow I gathered all my courage and told him, ‘I’m in prison today because of a drug case I never committed. Even if you kill me, I won’t knowingly carry drugs for anyone.’”

No one approached him again.

The family’s ordeal
Back in Kumbalangi, his family was counting the days. Every week, Disny’s wife Riya waited for the prison phone call that lasted only a few minutes.

“Every call was both a blessing and a heartbreak,” she said. “Some days he sounded strong. Other days I could hear how exhausted he had become. After every call, our daughter would ask, ‘When is Appa coming home?’ We never had an answer.”

Last year, Onmanorama reported how their daughter Doretta celebrated her father's birthday with only his photograph beside the cake. This August, father and daughter will celebrate his birthday together for the first time in three years.

‘I still can’t believe he is sitting beside us. When he called and said, ‘I’ve been released’, I couldn't speak. I just cried,” Riya said.

For his mother Susan, who is also Vice-President of the Palluruthy Block Panchayat, the hardest part was the uncertainty. “The biggest pain was watching my son lose his freedom for something he had never done.”

Even after investigators cleared the two drivers, the family's anxiety did not end. On June 10, their lawyer informed them that the court had ordered Disny's release. But there was still a window during which prosecutors could challenge the order.

Inside prison, unaware of the legal developments, Disny followed the same ritual every morning. He woke early, bathed, folded his clothes, packed his belongings and waited. “I hoped every day would be the day.” Then, on June 12, prison officers suddenly walked in.

“They told me, ‘Take your things. You’re being released.’”

For a few moments, he simply stared at them. “I couldn't believe it.” Prison officials returned everything taken from him nearly two years earlier – his passport, bank cards, identity documents and cash. But his phone was still in court’s custody.

Released into a foreign country with no phone he stood outside the prison. An elderly French woman offered him her phone after realising his plight. “The first person I called was Riya. I told her, ‘I’ve been released. Please inform the Sister.’”

The “Sister” was among the Catholic nuns, part of a congregation there, who had visited the prison to help the prisoners. After knowing Disny’s case, they quietly stood by the family.

They received him at the convent, arranged his travel, accompanied him to the railway station and ensured he safely reached the airport.

Even there, one final obstacle remained. Immigration officials questioned him because his visa had expired while he was in prison. Only after his lawyer explained the court order over the phone was he finally allowed to board the flight. “Only after the flight took off did I finally believe I was going home,” Disny said.

When he emerged from Kochi airport on June 19, his whole family was waiting. There were no celebrations, only tears.

During the darkest days of the case, Susan had made a vow that if her son returned safely, they would travel to the Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health at Velankanni and shave their heads in thanksgiving.

A few days after Disny came home, they fulfilled that promise. 

Starting over
French authorities have informed him that he is entitled to seek compensation for the nearly two years he spent behind bars without being allowed to work. 

Before his arrest, Disny had been only months away from applying for permanent residency in Slovakia. His dream was to bring his wife and daughter to Europe and build a life there.

“That dream has now disappeared but it doesn’t matter. I’ve had enough. Right now, I only want to be with my family,” Disny says.