In brief
Turkish actress Melisa Sozen has been questioned by authorities for allegedly promoting terrorist propaganda through her role in the French series The Bureau, sparking controversy over her costume's resemblance to a Kurdish militia uniform.
Turkish actress Melisa Sozen has recently faced police questioning in Istanbul under suspicions of "promoting terrorist propaganda" linked to her 2017 performance in the acclaimed French TV spy series, The Bureau. Sozen, aged 39, portrayed a double agent combating Islamist extremists, but she has garnered controversy, particularly on social media, due to her character's uniform resembling that of the YPG, a Kurdish militia deemed a terrorist group by Turkey.Reports indicate that Sozen returned to Turkey from abroad, where she provided a statement to the police but was not detained, as per information from DHA news agency. During her questioning, Sozen expressed that she had no knowledge of any resemblance between her character's costume and that of a terrorist organization, and emphasized that The Bureau had not been broadcast in Turkey.Amid social media backlash in the previous August, Sozen took to Instagram to defend herself, stating there had been no glorification of any "terror organization" in the series, presenting her career which spans 25 years as evidence against the unfounded allegations. "If there were any implications, they would have been recognized within the seven years since the show aired," she stressed.Sozen expressed her desire to reject the "false accusations" and shared her resilience developed through years in the industry. She highlighted that while she can withstand the harsh criticisms, it's a daunting challenge for younger individuals with less experience to endure such online harassment. Her career, once rooted in Turkish television and film, garnered international attention following her performance in Winter Sleep, which won the prestigious Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 2014.
