A Turkish court arrested YouTuber, Twitch streamer and podcaster Ahmet Sonuç, known online as Jahrein, on Friday in Turkey’s southern province of Antalya on charges of obscenity.
The Antalya Police Department announced Sonuç’s detention on Thursday in a statement posted on X, where they alleged that he had engaged in “speech that is not in accordance with general morality and the values of society” during a livestream.
Sonuç made allegedly inappropriate remarks during a live broadcast on the streaming platform Kick, where he had recently moved after years of streaming on Twitch. The remarks, deemed obscene, involved inappropriate discussions about family members and lewd suggestions regarding his own child. Turkish authorities have charged Sounç and another person who made similar remarks in an online chat room under Article 226 of the Turkish Penal Code, which pertains to obscenity.
The chat room, named “Incel chat room,” was said to be moderated by an individual identified as “Rockerpuck_Evil,” who was detained on similar charges. The term “incel,” short for involuntary celibate, refers to an online subculture of men who believe they are unable to attract women and often harbor hostile attitudes towards women and sexually active men.
Sonuç, who was born to Turkish Cypriot parents but has spent much of his life in Turkey, Germany and Poland, is a prominent figure in Turkish online communities, with a Twitch following of 1.9 million. He defended himself on Thursday against accusations of obscenity, explaining that his controversial remarks were part of an ongoing inside joke within his online community, emphasizing that the comments were taken out of context and claiming the incident has been manipulated by certain online groups to smear his reputation.