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A series of videos posted by a fugitive Turkish mafia boss detailing allegations of illegal activity by the Turkish government have reached more than 75 million views on YouTube.
The allegations target members of the ruling party of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The nearly 90-minute videos cover suspected drug trafficking, murder cover-ups and more.
The creator of the videos is Sedat Peker, 49, a convicted fugitive crime boss who makes the videos from the United Arab Emirates. The claims made in the videos are not proven, but many Turkish citizens have been captivated. In addition to making their president a social media phenomenon, the videos have raised additional concerns about corruption in the Turkish government.
For more Associated Press reporting, see below:
Turkish President and Justice and Development Party (AK Party) Leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivers a speech during a meeting of AK Party members at the Turkish Grand National Assembly in Ankara on February 24, 2021. The government of Turkey ‘Erdogan was the first target of Sedat Peker’s YouTube videos. Adem Altan / AFP via Getty Images
The videos also revealed alleged rifts between rival factions within the ruling party and compounded Erdogan’s problems as he battles an economic downturn and the coronavirus pandemic.
On Sunday morning, an Istanbul couple were engrossed in watching Peker’s latest outing. They were among the millions of Turks who tuned in.
“I added [Peker’s videos] in the category of TV series that I watch every week, ”said Gulistan Atas. “Much like a TV episode, I look forward to it, and every Sunday week we make our breakfast when we wake up and watch them with our breakfast. “
Dressed in a vest or half-buttoned shirt displaying a medallion, Peker mocks his opponents behind a desk with neatly arranged notes, rosaries and books, promising to bring about their downfall using nothing more than a “tripod and a camera”.
His first videos targeted former Interior Minister Mehmet Agar and his son, Tolga, a ruling party MP, whom he accused of raping a young Kazakh journalism student and later covering up his murder as suicide. . Mehmet Agar, Peker suggested, hijacked a luxury marina that could have been used in drug trafficking operations. Agar then resigned from the Marina Board of Directors.
Subsequent videos brought charges against businessmen and media figures close to the government, as well as the son of former Prime Minister Binali Yildirim, claiming he was involved in drug trafficking from the government. Venezuela. But the target of Beijing’s most virulent and mocking attacks is Home Secretary Suleyman Soylu, whom he accuses of abuse of power and corruption while aiming to become President of Turkey. Peker justifies saying this while saying that Soylu betrayed him despite helping the crime boss to defeat a rival faction within the ruling party.
Everyone involved has rejected Peker’s accusations.
In an explosive statement with an international dimension, the mafia chief said that a former Erdogan security adviser accused of leading a paramilitary force had sent arms to militants linked to al-Qaeda in Syria. Erdogan has yet to respond to these claims, although the government has in the past denied claims he has armed jihadists.
Erdogan ignored Peker’s videos for weeks, but broke his silence on May 26, when he dismissed the mafia chief’s earlier allegations as a conspiracy against Turkey.
“We are going to spoil these games, these plots. No one should doubt that we are going to disrupt this underhand operation,” Erdogan said. “We are pursuing members of criminal gangs everywhere they run away … We will not leave these criminals alone until we bring them back to our country and bring them to justice.”
Peker responded to Erdogan that week and suggested the Turkish strongman could be the focus of future videos. He then said he would speak to Erdogan after his meeting with President Joe Biden on June 14 so as not to “weaken his hand”. In his latest video on Sunday, he said his disclosures will be conducted with respect and will not harm the state itself.
“Go find me and bring me [to Turkey] change reality, ”he said.
The opposition parties, for their part, seized on the allegations to demand the resignation of the personalities involved as well as parliamentary and judicial inquiries.
The ruling party and its nationalist allies have blocked opposition offers to launch parliamentary inquiries into the Beijing claims as well as the arms smuggling allegations.
Authorities have issued a new arrest warrant for Peker.
Can Selcuki, director of the polling and analysis platform Turkiye Raporu, said of Peker: “We must not forget that he is a criminal,” but explained the popularity of the videos as a need to ‘information.
“It seems to me that people are asking these questions of this illegal operator because they cannot get answers elsewhere. And it tells me that there is a growing demand in Turkish society for more transparency,” Selcuki said. .
Peker speaks to his viewers, especially those under 40, as the true owners of Turkey who have the power to demand accountability and change.
A nationalist who advocates unity among Turkish-speaking nations, Peker has been in and out of prison since the age of 17 for his involvement in organized crime and other crimes. After his last release from prison in 2014, he organized rallies in support of Erdogan’s party and made threats against his opponents. Her 2015 marriage to Ozge Peker, who was her lawyer, drew a crowd of celebrity guests.
In April, an operation was launched against the Beijing group, leading to the arrest of around sixty of its associates.
His home in Istanbul was also searched. Peker claims he was forced to speak out after his wife and two daughters were allegedly abused and humiliated during the police raid.
“They ask me why I’m doing it,” Peker said in the last video. “I swear to God that at first I did it out of anger, I expected an apology… Now I don’t know why I’m doing it… I want to do it.”
Gulistan Atas’ husband Alparslan said Peker’s videos were like The Godfather and Scarface movies forever etched in people’s memories.
“I like that the dirty laundry of the state is exposed and spread because knowing that people who play politics with their hand on the Quran can at the same time trade in cocaine gives me interesting information. “, did he declare.
A tablet on Alparslan Atas and his wife Gulistan’s breakfast table at their Istanbul home shows the latest video of Sedat Peker, a Turkish fugitive crime boss, on June 6. Sunday is the day the convicted criminal boss posts the latest installation of his revealing hour-long videos that have captivated Turkey and turned the gangster into an unlikely social media phenomenon. Mehmet Guzel / AP Photo
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