Sedat Peker, a convicted criminal, has been shaking Turkish politics for several weeks. He has already posted seven videos of one hour each on YouTube. These are long monologues that Peker made from a luxury apartment, probably in Dubai, where he has been since he fled the Turkish justice.
Millions of Turks watched the videos in which the ultra-nationalist mafia leader claims to expose state secrets and demonstrate links between politicians and the underworld. He has made allegations against prominent members of the AKP ruling party. From an illegal takeover of a luxury marina, to drug trafficking, rape and even the murder of a young woman.
He speaks of crimes that he himself would have committed on behalf of government officials, such as organizing an attack on the editorial staff of a newspaper. All allegations are denied by those involved.
In the last video Peker claims that ex-Prime Minister Yildirim’s son recently traveled to Venezuela to set up a new drug trafficking network. Yildirim told the Turkish press that while his son was in Venezuela, he was going to personally bring covid tests there as part of charity
Opposition wants investigation
Especially the stories that Peker tells about the current Minister of the Interior, Suleyman Soylu, are causing a stir. The mafia leader claims that Soylu is the one who warned him that justice was after him, and that he could flee Turkey as a result. He also says the minister had promised him that he could return to Turkey safely. Soylu, one of the most powerful people in Erdogan’s cabinet, calls the allegations lies of a convicted criminal.
The opposition thinks there should be an investigation, some politicians are calling for Soylu’s resignation. Neither seems to be the case. On TV, Soylu said last night that there is no evidence whatsoever and that he has not thought of stepping down for a moment.
Very loyal to Erdogan
In the 1990s, Sedat Peker caused a furore in the Turkish underworld. He was involved in kidnappings, murders, drug smuggling and gang violence at a time when the Turkish mafia was flourishing. He was arrested and convicted several times, and spent years in prison. After he was released in 2014, he began to appear in AKP circles, says journalist Nese Idil of news platform Duvar. “He went on to present himself as a businessman and was seen in public with AKP men. He even organized pro-Erdogan election rallies.”
But Peker seems to have been put aside last year. That coincided with the controversial release from prison of another well-known mob boss, Alaattin Cakici. “Peker was no longer the ‘favorite mafia leader of the state’ and fled the country. Now he is taking revenge,” said Idil.
The videos bring up controversial cases from the past. In one of the videos, Peker claims that former interior minister Mehmet Agar is behind the murder of a number of Kurdish businessmen and two journalists in the 1990s. This led to a new call for investigations from human rights organizations.
Erdogan himself remains out of harm’s way in the videos. Peker calls him ‘Brother Tayyip’. “He is still very loyal to Erdogan,” said Idil. “He pretends to protect the president from people from his own party.”
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