Turkish mafia boss says told by UAE not to release videos 'defaming another country'

Duvar English

Turkish mafia leader Sedat Peker said that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) officials had told him not to release any more YouTube videos levying detailed accusations against current and former politicians from Turkey.

Peker made the comments to journalist İsmail Saymaz from Halk TV through his lawyer.

“The UAE's assigned public officials told me, 'You can not record videos in our country that defames another country.' Here is a foreign country and I am subject to their laws. But yet I will push all of my opportunities and still be in an effort to record [more] videos,” Saymaz quoted Peker as telling him in his column on Sept. 3.

Peker's comments came as Turkey and the UAE have recently appeared to ease longstanding regional tensions, especially in the face of a rare call earlier this week between the Persian Gulf state’s defacto ruler and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Asked by Saymaz if he thinks this renewed dialogue between Turkey and the UAE had anything to do with him, Peker said: “I do not think that the meeting topic between Turkey and the UAE is just about myself. There are very many issues of differences between the two countries.”

Peker said that he has established a company in Dubai and holds a three-year residence permit in the Gulf state. He said that as Turkey has revoked his passport, it is not possible for him to go anywhere else.

“The date when my passport was revoked coincides with the time when I previously said, 'I can maybe go to another country.' Except for my wife and three young children, everyone's passport in my family and surrounding has been revoked. I have not still understood on which reason they have based this decision They have revoked it, without a court decision, with the instruction of the Interior Minister,” Peker said.

Peker said that Interpol has not yet issued a red notice for him, which is why he said the UAE cannot “send him anywhere else unless I commit a crime in this country.” “The thing they would do the most would be to ask me to leave their country. The UAE has so far never handed anyone [to any other country]. Many businessmen, statesmen, who have run afoul to their own countries, reside in this country [UEA],” Peker said.

Peker, who fled Turkey in early 2020, has so far released nine videos on YouTube that are filled with bombshell allegations against Turkish government officials.

In June, the mafia boss said that United Arab Emirates officials warned him not to share videos due to high-security risks. Afterwards, Peker has continued to make his sensational claims via Twitter instead.

Turkey has formally requested Peker's extradition from the UAE. As there is no extradition treaty between Ankara and Abu Dhabi, the UAE has not responded to the request.