Girls rescued from fake 'Big Brother'

HASAN ÖRNEKOĞLU

ISTANBUL – Doğan News Agency

DHA Photo

Nine young women tricked into joining a fake reality show and kept isolated for two months were rescued by the gendarmerie Tuesday.

The women, some as young as 16, were kept confined in a villa in the Beykoz district of Istanbul and videos of them in the house were sold over the Internet.

According to reports, the organizers of the fake show placed advertisements in newspapers that called for “contestants to compete in a reality show akin to ‘Big Brother’ that will be broadcast on FX TV” and interviewed dozens of would-be contenders.

Nine were told they were chosen and made to sign a contract that stipulated that if any of the participants left before two months were up, they would have to pay a fine of 50,000 Turkish Liras. The young women were also told they would have no contact with the outside world, including their families, for the two-month period. Dreaming of becoming television stars, they accepted all the preconditions.

Cameras set up around the villa recorded every moment and naked videos of the participants were sold on the Internet.

Some of the women, realizing the scam, wanted to get out, but were prevented from doing so by the organizers. A person who stayed at the house with them warned that they would have to pay the fine if they left.

Those who tried to leave anyway found they could not because they were locked inside the villa.

A 16-year-old’s parents eventually contacted the gendarmerie, notifying them that they had not seen their daughter for two months and could not reach the organizers.

Once the gendarmerie went to the address the parents provided, they were greeted by cries for help coming from inside.

The gendarmerie staged a raid on the villa, rescuing the young women and detaining the individual who had been staying with them.

In their testimonies to gendarmerie officials, the women said they were also beaten from time to time.

The gendarmerie said the investigation into the matter continued.