Turkish reality TV contestant’s prison interview prompts investigation in Cyprus

Nicosia, Cyprus. Taner Tolga Tarlaci, a Turkish former reality television contestant serving a 10-year prison sentence in Cyprus, appeared in a leaked interview recorded inside the Central Prisons, where he alleged mistreatment and appealed for international assistance.

Conviction and sentence

Tarlaci, a former contestant on the Turkish edition of Survivor, was convicted by the Famagusta permanent criminal court in 2023 on three counts of rape, deprivation of liberty with intent to subject a person to sexual abuse, and threatening violence.

The offences took place in Paralimni in April 2022 against a 35-year-old woman. The woman told the court that Tarlaci had invited her to his apartment, saying he wanted to sell her products.

He was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Claims made in interview

The footage was published in two instalments on Cenk Hoca’s YouTube channel. It was recorded using a fellow inmate’s phone.

In the interview, Tarlaci alleged that he had faced severe racism and mistreatment by prison guards and other inmates. He also maintained that he was denied a fair trial, claiming that photographs and other evidence supporting his defence were rejected by the court.

Tarlaci said he had sought the intervention of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and US President Donald Trump, and claimed to have contacted Elon Musk in an effort to secure his release or transfer to Turkey.

Prison footage

The videos were uploaded about two weeks ago but were not noticed by prison authorities until they were circulated among inmates and flagged internally.

The footage was filmed in Wing 10 of the Central Prisons, a maximum-security section equipped with closed-circuit cameras and holding no more than 10 detainees at a time.