Turkey issues access ban on mafia leader's social media accounts

Turkish authorities have issued a ban on the YouTube, Instagram and Twitter accounts of organized crime leader Sedat Peker almost two months after he started to make bombshell revelations on the deep state's criminal connections, the Freedom of Expression Association (İFÖD) said late on June 24. The ban hasn't yet been implemented by the platforms in question, even though they have local offices in Turkey.

Friday June 25 2021 10:26 am

Duvar English

An access ban was issued on mafia leader Sedat Peker's social media accounts after nearly two months of his revelations that shook the Turkish news agenda, Turkey's Freedom of Expression Association (İFÖD) reported late on June 24.

The access ban was issued for "national security reasons," the association said, adding that the ban has not been yet implemented by the platforms in question.

"Organized crime leader Sedat Peker's YouTube channel and some videos, along with his Twitter and Instagram accounts, have been banned for access for national security reasons and the protection of public order," the association said in its statement.

The social media platforms in question have recently opened offices in Turkey as part of new legislation that mandated local representation for large social media platforms.

Peker has been releasing videos on YouTube where he made significant claims about relations between deep state players and crime organizations, including Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu.

Following the ban decision, Peker took to Twitter in protest, vowing to find any means possible to share with the public what he knows.

"I made a contract with you. Say they succeed in closing my social media accounts, I promise you that I will share what I know through smoke if I need to," Peker tweeted on June 25.

Dubbing himself "Psychiatric Professor Doctor Sedat Peker," the mafia leader said that he was first going to drive his enemies crazy and then treat them.

3-Bunların hepsini önce deli edecem, sonrasında ise tedavi edecem. Her ne kadar hipokrat yemini etmemiş olsam da sizler layık gördüğünüz için, ben Psikiyatri Profesör Doktor Sedat Peker. Hekimlerin de sözü namustur.
— Sedat Peker (@sedat_peker) June 25, 2021