Notorious Turkish mafia boss Sedat Peker has sent information and documents containing scandalous revelations about the Turkish government to trusted individuals in two countries, according to an opposition party member.
Turhan Çömez, a chief advisor to opposition Good (İYİ) Party leader Meral Akşener, said these documents will be released in the event of an “attempt on Peker’s life.”
Peker, the head of a powerful mafia group in Turkey and a former supporter of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, fled to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in early 2020 after a report linking him to arms trafficking to Syria under the guise of humanitarian aid was published.
In the summer of 2021, Peker caused a stir in Turkey with his social media revelations about state-mafia relations, drug trafficking, and murders implicating government officials and their family members. After going silent for a period due to concerns for his safety and a ban on broadcasting his exposés online, Peker recently became active again on social media, making shocking accusations against pro-government figures.
However, he announced that he would save his most crucial revelations for two months before Turkey’s parliamentary and presidential elections in 2023, so that voters would still remember them when they cast their ballots.
Çömez stated that he had a long video chat with Peker with the help of his connections in the UAE.
He claimed that during this chat, Peker said he is currently unable to continue his revelations due to restrictions imposed by the UAE government on his digital activities, but is willing to testify about the cases against him through Turkey’s Audio and Visual Information System (SEGBIS) or the Turkish Embassy in the UAE.
“I’ve recorded all the information and documents [I have on the government’s dirty laundry]. I’ve sent them to [individuals in] two countries. If I am killed, if there’s an attempt on my life, all of Turkey will learn about them,” Çömez quoted Peker as saying.
Turkish media recently reported that Peker told people in his inner circle that Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu’s recent visit to the UAE was to request his extradition.
Peker had previously claimed that it was connections to his family that helped Soylu rise through the ranks of the right-wing True Path Party (DYP) before he joined the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in 2012 at the invitation of then-prime minister and current President Erdoğan.
Peker also alleged that Soylu helped him avoid police prosecution by alerting him to an investigation being prepared against him before he fled Turkey in early 2020. The mob boss further claimed that Soylu previously told people that he and Erdoğan “liked” Peker.
