Merve Göntem, one of the screenwriters of the popular TV series Cranberry Sorbet (Kızılcık Şerbeti), was detained at her home late yesterday, T24 news site reported.
Her lawyer told T24 that she was taken into custody as part of an investigation led by a prosecutor for press-related crimes, but said the allegations against her were not yet clear.
After a court appearance today, Göntem was released with an international travel ban.
The detention came after comments Göntem made four years ago about a fictional sex worker character she had created resurfaced online. In footage circulating on social media, Göntem is seen discussing the character Eylül from the BluTV series Naked (Çıplak). “It seems to me that she chose a fun way to pursue her dream of going to Wales, to enter certain environments, to sit at certain tables. Eylül’s story is not really one of downfall. She does not feel uncomfortable about having sex for money. She is happy while counting the money. She set herself a motivation to go to Wales,” she says.
She adds that she had inspired from what she saw in her high school years to create the character: "I graduated from a girls' high school. At my high school, there were girls who did sex for money, and it seemed very normal to us; we didn't call them 'escorts.' There are so many young girls who come to İstanbul for university education, stay in dormitories, and do this. I was inspired by them when I wrote Eylül."
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'A smear campaign'
Her lawyer, Giray Kemer, argued that Göntem has been subjected to a “systematic smear campaign” because of these remarks, adding that even her five-month-old baby had been insulted during the attacks.
“A statement she gave four years ago in response to a question on social media about a fictional TV character has been cut, stripped of its context, and recirculated as if it reflected her personal views," Kemer was quoted as saying by T24. "These manipulative posts made it seem as if she held these opinions in her private life. As a result, she has been targeted with severe insults and became the focus of a systematic lynching campaign."
Meanwhile, Cranberry Sorbet, for which Göntem is an active screenwriter, is itself under investigation by the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK). The probe was launched after claims that the series undermines social values.
RTÜK head Ebubekir Şahin stated on Sep 14 that the series could directly affect “the institution of the family and the peace of society,” stressing that complaints were being evaluated carefully and that necessary measures would be taken swiftly.
Gold Film, the producer of the series, responded to the investigation by saying, “We always take into account the sensitivities of Turkish society, especially regarding the family institution.”
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Support from screenwriters' group
The screenwriters’ professional association SenaristBir issued a statement criticizing the investigations targeting Göntem and Cranberry Sorbet.
“The merging of social media’s culture of lynching with the opportunism of accounts with large followings has created a destructive picture that threatens a screenwriter’s career, livelihood, and dignity,” the group said.
It added that Cranberry Sorbet, “under the pretext of targeting the ‘Turkish family structure,’ has been placed under scrutiny since it first aired, once again making visible the pressure on freedom of expression and creativity.”
“As SenaristBir, we emphasize this: what corrodes society is not television dramas, but injustice. What destroys families is not fiction, but poverty. What drags a country to the brink is not screenwriters, but oppression and unlawfulness,” said the statement. (VK)
