Nine women held in fake 'Big Brother' house in Turkey are rescued

Nine women have been rescued from a villa on the outskirts of Istanbul, Turkey. They had been duped into believing they were taking part in a reality TV show similar in style to 'Big Brother'.

The nine women were held captive after applying to take part in a show they believed was to be a reality TV show similar to many others broadcast around the world. They were held for two months. The Turkish military police said today they had rescued the women on Monday after storming a villa in Riva, a resort on the outskirts of Istanbul. The spokesman refused to give any further details. According to various news reports and the Dogan news agency the women believed they were contestants in a reality TV show but in fact their naked pictures were being sold on the Internet by those who were holding them captive. The nine women, including one teenager, had applied to be on the show after responding to an advertisement seeking contestants for a new reality TV show that was apparently to be aired on a major Turkish TV station, Dogan reports. The nine women were selected for the show from various applicants. The application process included an interview. The nine selected were made to sign a contract that said they could have no contact with their families or any contact with the outside world. It also stated that if they tried to leave the house in the first two months of the show they would have to pay a fine of 50,000 Turkish lira (£20,000, $33,300). According to the Dogan agency and to HaberTurk newspaper, the women realised they were being tricked and requested to be allowed to leave the villa. They were told they could not leave without paying the fine, some of the women insisted and they were threatened. Conflicting reports from Dogan and HaberTurk mean that there are no firm facts about how the raid occurred. Dogan states that members of the captives families had complained the police that they couldn't contact the women inside and this started the operation which led to the police storming the villa. The agency says the women cried for help when the police arrived. HaberTurk said that one of the captive women had been able to contact a family member and ask for help but the newspaper didn't provide any source. They also conflict over the age of the teenager in the house with Dogan saying she is sixteen but HaberTurk claiming she is fifteen. HaberTurk also wrote that the women were all models from the Mediterranean resort of Antalya and the Aegean port city of Izmir. The mother of one of the freed women is quoted as saying, "We were not after the money but we thought our daughter could have the chance of becoming famous if she took part in the contest...But they have duped us all." The mother also says that the captive women were not sexually harassed or abused but had been given orders to fight with each other, to dance by the pool and wear bikinis. HaberTurk reports that four people who lived with the women at the villa the whole time had been detained by the police but have been released pending the outcome of a future trial. There were no reports of which charges had been reported and none of their identities had been released. According to The Guardian newspaper:

It is not unusual for Turkish courts to release suspects from custody if the charges brought do not carry long prison sentences, and the suspects are not likely to escape or tamper with evidence.

HaberTurk has also reported that police are continuing to look for the leader of the gang who, according to the newspaper report, sold the images of the women on the Internet. Turkish police refused to make comment about the charges or the suspects.