After 24-hour silence, Sedat Peker reveals he was with 'UAE authorities'

Peker says he hasn't been able to release a new video due to security problems.

Click to read the article in Turkish

After Sedat Peker went silent on social media yesterday (June 13), rumors spread that he might have been killed, nabbed by Turkey's intelligence officers or was detained by the UAE government.

Posting his first tweet in 24 hours at around 12.30 a.m., Peker said "we had a conversation with authorities" because of various claims about him.

A convicted crime leader who has been living abroad since late 2019, Peker has been making YouTube videos on state-mafia relations in Turkey since early May.

In his videos and tweets, which are followed by millions of people, Peker claims to reveal criminal acts involving former and current government officials and businesspeople. His claims include political assassinations, international drug smuggling, sexual assault and corruption.

"Since there is no Interpol warrant for me, I'm a guest in Turkey like everyone else, they said," he wrote, refuting reports that he was caught in an operation by "intelligence officers and commandos."

"I am not a wanted person according to international law anyway. Because of that, it is not possible for our great state to carry out an official operation against me. They treated me as politely as they would treat any normal person," Peker wrote.

"We won't refrain from completing this story if we don't die and stay alive," he wrote in another tweet, saying that he would continue his videos.

Last week, Peker said he had to postpone the videos he had planned to release on Thursday and Sunday due to security concerns. He has apparently been in Dubai since he released his first video on May 2. As seen in his videos, Peker has changed the place he stays several times.

Peker previously said he had postponed a video about President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, whom he calls "brother Tayyip," in order not to make things difficult for the president ahead of his meeting with US President Joe Biden, which will take place today.

Sedat Peker videos

Formerly a pro-government figure, Peker had to leave the country in 2019 to avoid arrest. He began his revelations on YouTube in early May, after, according to him, Minister of Interior Süleyman Soylu failed to keep his promise that he would be able to return to the country in April.

Peker has targeted several former and current government officials in his videos, making several accusations against them, including international drug smuggling, political assassinations, corruption, sexual assault and murder.

Along with Soylu, former Minister of Interior Mehmet Ağar, his son and AKP deputy Tolga Ağar, and former PM Binali Yıldırım's son Erkam Yıldırım, and former intelligence and military officer Korkut Eken are among Peker's high-profile targets.

Peker's videos have had over 100 million views on YouTube. The government and relevant people have dismissed some of his claims while remaining silent about some others.

(TP/VK)