MHP leader Bahçeli lends support to Interior Minister Soylu once again

Duvar English 

The leader of the far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) has once again lent support to Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu and asked, "Who says Mr. Soylu is alone?" 

Soylu has been the subject of controversy since Turkish mafia leader Sedat Peker started accusing him of committing various illegal acts. 

While the response of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in the face of these accusations has been weak, Bahçeli has been openly supporting Soylu. 

Addressing members of his MHP in a parliamentary group meeting on July 6, Bahçeli praised Soylu's "fight against terror" and noted that the party will "never accept lynching attempts and character assassinations." 

"Who says Mr. Soylu is alone? Who says Mr. Soylu was left alone?" Bahçeli asked, in an apparent response to the opposition's comments on the minister being unwanted within the AKP. 

"The minister is a brave and patriotic man who carries out his duties with the love of the nation and the people and who fights against terrorists night and day," said Bahçeli, a close friend of mafia leader Alaattin Çakıcı - who previously replaced Peker as the state's favorite mafia leader. 

Shortly after Bahçeli's speech, Soylu thanked the MHP leader "for his belief and trust." 

A similar incident took place on May 25, when Bahçeli came out in support for Soylu, which was followed by the minister thanking the far-right leader. 

Peker, currently in the United Arab Emirates, has been making bombshell allegations against current and former politicians, with the most high-ranking one being Soylu.

According to the mafia boss, Soylu sought help from Peker's men repeatedly to boost his political career in the past. He also claimed that Soylu assigned official guards to Peker when the relations between him and the government were not strained.