Sedat Peker: the mob boss targeting Turkey’s political elite
A flamboyant, Tony Soprano-esque figure, he has been spilling the beans on figures in Turkey’s ruling AKP
Forget soap operas and TV dramas, said David Lepeska in The National (Dubai). “Say hello to Sedat Peker, Turkey’s new viral video sensation.” Peker, a former mob boss, has emerged as an unlikely YouTube star of late, with millions tuning in to his weekly videos.
And no wonder. A flamboyant, Tony Soprano-esque figure who sports a huge medallion, he has been spilling the beans on figures in Turkey’s ruling AKP and their alleged links to the criminal underworld. His main target is Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu, whom Peker says protected him and tipped him off so he could flee to Dubai to avoid prosecution (claims that Soylu denies).
But the allegations go far beyond that, implicating a wide array of officials in crimes including murder, rape, drug trafficking and corruption. The videos have given Turks a rare glimpse at the murky world where politics and crime meet. “Brothers and sisters,” Peker likes to say, “nothing is what it looks like.”
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
These videos might make for engrossing viewing, said Daily Sabah (Istanbul) – but Peker, who “rose to prominence” in the underworld in the late 1990s, and has served several jail sentences, is hardly a credible source. He fled the country last year when the interior ministry moved against his network; the YouTube tirades began when his associates were targeted in police raids in April. It’s all uncorroborated tittle- tattle, said Elçin Poyrazlar in Cumhuriyet (Istanbul) – but the public don’t seem to care. “In a country where journalists are in prison and free press is caged,” criminals fill the void – using their platforms to settle personal scores.
Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan – whom Peker calls “Brother Tayyip” – is yet to be implicated in the allegations, said Murat Yetkin in the Yetkin Report (Istanbul). Erdogan, who insists he has “eliminated” criminal gangs from Turkish politics, may even benefit from the claims, which offer him an array of scapegoats for his party’s poor poll ratings and Turkey’s dire economic position.
I doubt that, said Kareem Fahim in The Washington Post. This story has reinforced fears of a “resilient bond between Turkey’s underworld and politicians” dating back decades; gangsters have in the past been used to carry out political assassinations. Peker himself was, until recently, a fervent public supporter of the AKP. And there are signs the mob has been strengthening in recent years: Istanbul’s underground economy is said to have grown from $3bn in 2015 to $10bn in 2020. With Peker promising that more videos are still to come, this crisis may be “far from over” for Erdogan.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescue
Speed Read Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Gaza hospital blast: What the video evidence shows about who's to blame
Speed Read Nobody wants to take responsibility for the deadly explosion in the courtyard of Gaza's al-Ahli Hospital. Roll the tape.
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Giraffe poo seized after woman wanted to use it to make a necklace
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Helicopter sound arouses crocodiles
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Woman sues Disney over 'injurious wedgie'
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Emotional support alligator turned away from baseball stadium
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Europe's oldest shoes found in Spanish caves
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Artworks stolen by Nazis returned to heirs of cabaret performer
It wasn't all bad Good news stories from the past seven days
By The Week Staff Published