Over the past couple of weeks, Sedat Peker, a well-known convicted mafia leader, has been releasing videos on YouTube about relations between the state and the mafia in Turkey. He has been accusing the Turkish Minister of Interior of remaining blind eye to criminal activities, murders, rapes, drug trafficking, and other illicit practices. He also accuses former police chief and minister Mehmet Ağar of the unidentified murders and forced disappearances during the 1990s and drew attention to the relationship of Ağar and Soylu.
Peker also claimed that former prime minister Binali Yildirim’s son Erkan Yildirim is at the head of a drug trafficking operation from Venezuela to Turkey.
Millions of people are watching Peker’s videos as his confessions create a heated debate within the country.
However Turkish President Erdogan has remained silent about all of the accusations until yesterday (26th of May).
Speaking at the AKP Group Meeting, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made a statement regarding the mention of Soylu in Sedat Peker’s videos after support came for Soylu from the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli.
Erdoğan stated that he is behind Soylu and he also supported Erkan Yıldırım who came to the fore with allegations of involvement in the drug trade.
“We will fight against them,” said Erdogan and added that they will capture Peker and bring him back to Turkey
Meanwhile, HDP Group Deputy Chairperson Saruhan Oluç spoke at a press conference he held in the Assembly.
He raised the close relations between the AKP government and the mafia leader Sedat Peker and accused the AKP of building up those relations with the mafia and held them responsible for the crimes and murders done in the name of the state.
