In his latest confessions relating to state-mafia relations, mafia leader Sedat Peker has warned against possible attacks on Alevis, members of a religious minority in Turkey.
One of Peker’s main targets is Mehmet Ağar, a former Interior Minister and police chief whom he accuses of murders and forced disappearances during the 90s. Peker claims that Ağar was plotting an attack on a jemevi, an Alevi place of worship.
Mehmet Ağar has been accused of involvement in killings before, when ‘unknown assailants’ opened fire in İstanbul’s Alevi neighbourhood in 1995.
Sedat Peker has been releasing a series of videos on mafia-state relations since May, and in these, he has made allegations referring to Mehmet Ağar, saying, “His team is planning to attack a jemevi.” As a result, Alevi community concerns regarding their autonomy and well being, which are often subject to the political pressure of various governments, have increased once more.
Öztürk Türkdoğan, Chair of the Human Rights Association of Turkey, called on the government to take comprehensive measures to stop all forms of discrimination against Alevis.
