Turkish mafia leader says his previous rallies aimed to raise support for ruling AKP
Mafia leader Sedat Peker said that he had attempted to raise support for the ruling AKP with his previous rallies organized across Turkey. He said that although he is mostly known for his 2015 Rize rally, during which he threatened to “take shower in the blood” of a group of academics, he held several other rallies in support of the AKP.
Duvar English
Mafia leader Sedat Peker has said the aim of the rallies that he previously held across Turkey was to raise support for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
“You are stuck at the rally in Rize. You are asking the government, 'Why did you have Sedat Peker hold a rally in Rize?' But I did not just hold a rally in Rize; I held them in Sakarya, Sivas, Maraş, Niğde, Cyprus, İzmir, Nevşehir, Ankara and Istanbul's many distrists (for AKP),” Peker said in a tweet on June 9.
Peker was referring to the 2015 rally in Rize during which he threatened a group of academics who petitioned the government to stop conducting a military operation against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in urban areas.
"We will shed your blood and take shower in it," Peker had said in that rally, in reference to the academics.
The mafia leader was later sued, but was acquitted of the crime since the court handled his words within the scope of the freedom of expression.
Peker's other rallies similarly were full of threats against government critics, which all went unpunished.
All the while, thousands of his far-right ultranationalist supporters deemed Peker a "charitable businessman" and he received awards from multiple institutions.
In 2015, Peker was even pictured with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan during the wedding of an infamous pro-government social media troll.
For the last month, ultranationalist mafia leader has been releasing YouTube videos from his stated base in Dubai, making bombshell allegations in an apparent bid to settle scores with political figures.
In his videos, Peker has so far shown utmost respect to Erdoğan, exluding him from his claims. However, on June 7, he announced that he would talk about Erdoğan's son-in-law and former finance minister Berat Albayrak later this week.
Peker also said that he would “go on a long journey” after a person exposed the location of the hotel from where he is broadcasting his YouTube videos.
“Therefore I will go on a long journey. It is obvious that a journey with the family is difficult, but we know how to overcome this, as has been the case with all difficulties,” Peker tweeted on June 9, adding that such a change of location might mean a delay in his broadcasts planned for June 10 and 13.