Turkish mobster Sedat Peker targeted by arrest warrant after charges
An arrest warrant has been issued for Sedat Peker after his videos which have made millions of views on Youtube.
© OZAN KOSE / AFP
Text by: RFI Follow
3 min
Turkey issued this Thursday, May 27 an arrest warrant against an exiled mafia godfather, Sedat Peker, who is shaking the government by accusing senior officials of various crimes in videos that have gone viral on his YouTube channel.
This court decision came the day after President Erdogan made a statement promising his arrest.
Publicity
Read more
As is often the case, Recep Tayyip Erdogan therefore had to speak.
For weeks, while the videos of mafia leader Sedat Peker captured the attention of tens of millions of people, the president remained silent ... to such an extent that some wondered if he was preparing to dismiss his
minister of 'Interior, Süleyman Soylu
, whom Sedat Peker accuses of having betrayed him after having protected him.
On Wednesday, finally, Recep Tayyip Erdogan publicly supported his minister, promising to "
defeat
" what he called a "
underhand operation
" and to bring "
members of organized crime
"
back to Turkey
to "
hand them over to the justice
”.
The Ankara prosecutor's office announced in the wake of having issued an arrest warrant against Sedat Peker, who claims to reside in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
A new video expected this Sunday
In a recent video, the mafia leader claimed to have already received a visit from a team from Turkey, without specifying the identity and intentions of his “
visitors
”.
He explained that this visit had forced him to change location, reports our correspondent in Istanbul,
Anne Andlauer
.
For nearly a month, the man who now presents himself as a businessman after being convicted in connection with organized crime has kept Turkey in suspense by posting on YouTube carefully staged videos in which he accuses senior officials and family members from rape, murder or drug trafficking.
If these accusations are not substantiated, they nevertheless captured the attention of millions of Turks who watch his videos like a soap opera, awakening the memory of the past links between the security apparatus and the Mafia.
So far, Sedat Peker has spared the Turkish president, even addressing Recep Tayyip Erdogan with respect.
His next video, announced for Sunday, will certainly be followed with all the more interest.
► See also: Turkey: the former mafia boss Sedat Peker again accuses Erdogan's entourage on Youtube
Newsletter
Receive all international news directly in your mailbox
I subscribe
Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application
google-play-badge_FR
Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Turkey