They were treated like hostesses, ripped off, and beaten

The series of violent incidents occurring in entertainment venues in the most central parts of the country reveals the mafia-like transformation within the entertainment sector.

The most recent example of this took place in Istanbul's Beyoğlu, a district once praised for the 'gentlemanly conduct of men who went out for a night on the town.'

According to an exclusive report by Müslim Sarıyar from HalkTV, a staff member approached the table of three young female friends who had gone to a tavern in Beyoğlu to have fun and said, "They liked you from the next table; they want to treat you to champagne." The young women, who refused the offer, asked for the bill. After paying, the young women were blocked at the door. One of them had her hair pulled and was kneed in the face. These horrific scenes were recorded by security cameras.

The three young women, identified as A.İ.K (22), H.E (20), and Y.T. (23), went to a luxury tavern with a Bosphorus view called 'Divane Cihangir' in Cihangir, Beyoğlu, to have a good time. According to the allegations, the three young women were catcalled from a neighboring table. Disturbed by this, the young women informed the venue's security and requested to have their table changed.

According to the allegations, a staff member named M.D. later approached the young women, pointed to the people at the neighboring table, and said, "These are my special guests; they liked you and want to send you champagne." The young women refused this offer and reiterated their request to have their table changed.

WHEN THEY REFUSED, A 10 THOUSAND TL BILL ARRIVED

When their table was not changed, the three young women asked for the bill and wanted to leave the tavern. According to the allegations, the bill, which should have been 475 TL per person, came to a total of 10 thousand TL. According to the allegations, when they objected to the bill, the staff member M.D. told the young women, "Let's combine your table with the other table; let them pay your bill." Disturbed by this, the three young women paid a 9 thousand TL bill and wanted to leave the venue.

As the three young women tried to leave the venue, their path was allegedly blocked by the business owner, V.T., who said, "Just sit with the men; you already paid too little for the bill, I won't let you leave here." At this moment, the young woman named Y.T. was attempted to be pushed by the other staff member, M.D. The young woman slapped M.D. to get away from him as he tried to push her by grabbing her chin. After this slap, the horrific scenes unfolded. M.D. grabbed Y.T. by her hair and kneed her in the face. These moments were recorded second by second by the security camera.

THEY DID NOT FILE A COMPLAINT THINKING THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE, BUT...

After this incident, the three young women left the venue and were allegedly threatened by the business owner and the employee. Fearing for their safety due to the terror they experienced, the three young women did not file a complaint at first, fearing they had no evidence.

Upon the footage of the incident being published on social media, the three young women took action and went to the Beyoğlu District Police Department the day before yesterday to recount the terror they experienced and file a complaint. The three young women, who provided the footage published on social media to the police as evidence, explained the events in detail in their statements.

They stated that the incident, which started with catcalling from a neighboring table, escalated in scale. Stating that the business owner brought a hefty bill when they wanted to leave the venue, the young women also detailed the incident they experienced in front of the door to the police. Following this complaint, an investigation was launched.

The Mayor of Beyoğlu made a statement. Making a statement regarding the incident reported by Halk TV, İnan Güney said in his post, "Beyoğlu is a district where women live, will live, and have fun freely and safely. It will remain so. We will follow the legal and administrative processes regarding the matter to the end; in coordination with our District Governorship and police forces, we will ensure that the necessary actions are taken against those responsible for this disgrace. I am personally following the matter."

On the other hand, the statements of Y.T., who was seen having her hair pulled and being kneed in the face in the horrifying footage, have emerged. Y.T. described the incident and its aftermath in her statement as follows:

'MOVE TO THE NEXT TABLE, LET THEM PAY'

"On June 3, I went to the tavern with my friends Y.T., İ.K., and H.E. While we were sitting, the people at the next table catcalled us. Upon this, we told the venue's security about the situation and asked them to change our table. The person named M.M.D., whose name I learned later from social media due to the incident, came to us and, pointing to the next table, said, 'These are my special guests; they liked you. They want to send you champagne.' We did not want it and asked for our table to be changed. When they didn't change our table, we asked for the bill.

They brought the bill. However, while it should have normally been 475 TL per person, a bill of around 10 thousand TL came to us.

When I said that this bill was too high and incorrect, M.M.D. pointed to those who catcalled us from the next table and said, 'Let's combine your table with the other table; let them pay your bill.' We were very disturbed by this and, to avoid prolonging the situation, we paid 9 thousand TL and left the establishment. Right in front of the door, we returned because İ.K. had forgotten her phone on the charger. While we were waiting at the door, V.T., whom I learned was the owner of the establishment, said, 'Just sit with the men. You already paid too little for the bill. I won't let you leave here.' I said, 'What do you mean you won't let us leave here? We already paid a bill higher than the price we agreed upon.'"

'THE POLICE ARE OUR ACQUAINTANCES'

"The men sitting at the table said things to us, I don't remember exactly, but one of them said something like '7.65'. When I said, 'What are you talking about?', the person named M.M.D. started pushing me. I said, 'What are you doing? I will call the police.'

As I took out my mobile phone, M.M.D. took the phone and started swearing, saying, 'Go ahead and call the police, everyone is our acquaintance. Who can do anything to us?' Then he said, 'I am not letting you leave here.' Because M.M.D. grabbed me by the chin and pushed me, I slapped him. Upon this, he grabbed me by my hair and hit my head with his knee.

They also knocked my friend İ.K. to the ground and kicked her while she was down. A citizen in the tavern separated us. I told M.M.D., 'I will report you.'

Upon this, M.M.D. said, 'Go report me wherever you want. The police are my acquaintances. Nothing will happen to me. You'll come to your senses when I have you shot in the legs.' Due to the incident, I had swelling on my head and bruises on different parts of my body. I did not come to file a complaint immediately after the incident because I was afraid of the individuals and thought I would not be able to find evidence regarding the incident. For this reason, I did not get a medical report for the assault..."