“They gave us a book and told us we’re obliged under law to fill it in for a full month, detailing all the income and expenditures of the house. I told them I don’t have the time, but we first wanted to cooperate with them. My mom started to fill out the book, but she later told me she won’t be able to continue doing so as there are too many detailed questions,” she said. “I was frankly very surprised after taking a close look into the book, because it even inquired about what we serve to our guests. ... This survey is conducted to tag people. What I don’t understand is, why is the state asking me how much I paid for my sanitary pads!”

Samyeli won third place in the 1991 Turkey Beauty Pageant. Since then, she has become a media personality and one of the country’s most famous news anchors. As she is a well-known public figure, TUIK Chairman Birol Aydemir responded boldly. “It’s a legal obligation [to respond to this survey]. We’re distributing this book to be filled out by thousands of people. What kind of superiority does Defne have? Does she expect us to leave her alone when she says she does not have the time for this survey?” he said on Oct. 21. “If the citizens don’t provide us the data, how are we going to acquire information?”

TUIK is a state institution linked to the prime ministry. According to Article 7 of the law regulating its activities, it openly states that citizens have a legal obligation to provide full and complete information to any questionnaire it distributes. Failing to do so, one could be fined. Samyeli was thus punished with a fine of 929 Turkish lira ($459).