Peker reveals how a probe into him was closed after he called for armament against opposition

A screenshot from Peker's YouTube videos in May, which were viewed by millions.

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Convicted mob boss Sedat Peker has made fresh revelations about how he received "favorable treatment" from prosecutors during a probe after he called on people to "get arms" in February 2019.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of a restaurant in İstanbul, Peker had called on the people to support the country's ruling alliance in the March 2019 local elections.

He had also urged people to get arms against "imperialists and their servants" who he had said would attempt to drag the country into turmoil after the polls.

İYİ Party Chair Meral Akşener had filed a criminal complaint against Peker for "inciting people into hatred and animosity." Prosecutors had entered a nolle prosequi as to the charges.

☞ Having turned against his former allies, Peker has been making claims about alleged corrupt practices involving government officials since early May. He is currently residing in the UAE.

In a series of Twitter posts yesterday (November 8), Peker revealed that the prosecutor who closed the investigation into him in 2019 was the one who has recently indicted him for "organized crime."

Peker is charged with leading an organized crime group and his trial will start on December 29. He is facing up to 300 years in prison.

According to Peker, Prosecutor Alim Yaşar had summoned him to depose after Akşener's criminal complaint but later changed the hours because he didn't like to get up early. "I was such a special man," he wrote, noting that he was offered coffee while giving his statement.

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Peker also claimed that he had talked to "officials of the political party that we acted together with" and officials from SADAT, a military contractor close to the government, on what should they do about Akşener's complaint.

Afterwards, Peker said, he had decided to tweet about his previous encounters with Akşener when she was the interior minister in the 1990s. "... They said to me that we should prepare tweets to leave it vague and confuse people."

He said the relevant conversations could be obtained from WhatsApp messages and HTS records.

"After my incorrect posts about Akşener, the perception among the public after my 'get arms' call was directed to elsewhere," he wrote, adding that the people who prepared his social media videos at the time were the same people who make videos for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).

Prosecutor's advice

Peker further claimed that the prosecutor had advised him to soften his words about the chair of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, whom he targeted during the speech subject to the investigation.

"Mr. prosecutor said to me, 'Now the deposition is over. I'm conveying you to a request of our state. This is also in the knowledge of our chief prosecutor and is his request as well.'

"He said they were not disturbed by my harsh words about Mr. Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu ... and my words were right, but I shouldn't make harsh remarks about Kılıçdaroğlu for a while because the tensions in the country rose too much and I could continue as I would like after a while."

He also questioned why the prosecutor didn't investigate how could about 20,000 people gather for the opening ceremony of a restaurant, which turned into a rally.

About his trial, Peker said he was indicted just because he had revealed corruption and that "the people should decide if I'm guilty or not."

(KÖ/VK)