Turkish Actress Melisa Sozen Under Investigation for Role in French Spy Series

Melisa Sozen, a Turkish actress, faces scrutiny over her portrayal of a spy in a 2017 French series, leading to accusations of promoting terrorist propaganda due to costume similarities to a Kurdish militia.

Turkish actress Melisa Sozen has recently attracted attention after being questioned by the police in Istanbul on accusations of "promoting terrorist propaganda" through her role in the acclaimed French TV spy series, The Bureau. Sozen, who is 39 years old, played Esrin, a double agent infiltrating Islamist militant groups, a performance that has now come under fire.

The controversy erupted as her character's uniform was claimed to resemble that of the Syria-based Kurdish militia YPG, which holds a terrorist designation in Turkey. This scrutiny intensified after Sozen faced backlash on social media, prompting the actress to address the allegations. Upon returning from abroad, she provided a statement to authorities but was not detained, according to reports from the DHA news agency.

Sozen emphasized that she had no knowledge of the costume bearing any resemblance to an actual terror group, particularly since The Bureau was never broadcast in Turkey. Responding to the online hostility last August, she stated on Instagram that the show did not glorify any "terror organization," stressing that if such praise existed, it would have surfaced over its seven-year run.

"I do not accept the false accusations thrown at me," she declared, reinforcing the notion that the series was well-known and not surreptitious in its broadcast. Sozen, who boasts a 25-year career and gained international recognition for her role in Winter Sleep, which won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 2014, reflected on the toll of online harassment. While she manages the scrutiny, she acknowledged the challenges younger individuals may face when subjected to such bullying on the internet.