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Accused of leading a criminal organization and having fled Turkey, Sedat Peker has posted the fourth of his 'deep state' videos on YouTube. This time, Peker has targeted Minister of Interior Süleyman Soylu.
CLICK - Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu targets Cumhuriyet
The fourth and latest video of Peker is titled "Some Believed in the Story of the Hunter Before the Lion Told its Story. We will See."
Addressing Interior Minister Soylu, Sedat Peker said, "Wasn't it you who gave me my police guard? Wasn't it you who extended the duty term of the police guard? He is now intimidating me. They say they are doing what is necessary. Yes. I will be afraid. I will say, 'Red notice, prison and my age is 50.' I served 16.5 years behind bars. Will you make me afraid?"
Allegations about Soylu
In his video, Peker argued that former Minister of Treasury and Finance Berat Albayrak, who is also the son-in-law of President and ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, was turned against Peker. Addressing Soylu, Peker asked,
"Didn't you turn me against Mr. Albayrak? Didn't you say, 'I don't govern İstanbul, Berat does. They are preparing a file on Sedat Peker. I will inform [you] if there is anything dangerous."
Erdoğan's 'circle'
Peker also said, "Everyone knows that you are undermining Mr. Erdoğan", posing the question, "Are you Allah? Or What?"
"You have surrounded big brother Tayyip, you have cut his contact with the world, saying that the country is growing and all.
"People are committing suicide. People are committing suicide because they cannot buy pitta bread. Isn't it your duty to prevent all these? Your duty is to ... journalists, party chairs, this and that... Are you a bandit or something? Are you gonna scare me," said Peker further.
Soylu: I have the law on me
Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu has responded to these allegations by releasing a written statement on his Twitter account. Soylu has announced that he will take the allegations of Peker to court.
"For months, I had been expecting that this scenario would come to this point. The mafia jerk, an operation personnel in the hands of some people, hurt so many people with threats and blackmail in this country. He was a bloodsucker, nesting behind such sacred concepts as the state and nation, he was involved in all types of nasty business," Soylu has said. "Turkey is getting clean and elevated by struggling against these very rascals."
Addressing Peker, he has said, "I am taking your allegations and aspersions to court so that everything will come to light. I have the law on me."
Minister of Interior Süleyman Soylu has also called on Sedat Peker to come back to Turkey and hand himself over to justice.
He has also targeted the opposition, newspapers
The Interior Minister has also targeted the opposition party leaders and newspapers that have been calling on the authorities over the past week to bring the allegations uttered by Sedat Peker into light.
"There are - of course - some places that you take your courage from," Soylu has said and referred to main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) Chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, İYİ Party Chair Meral Akşener, DEVA Party Chair Ali Babacan and Future Party Chair Ahmet Davutoğlu:
"You have an elder brother like Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu anyhow. You have an elder sister like Meral Akşener somehow or other. You have a brother like Ali Babacan. You have a teacher like Ahmet Davutoğlu..."
He has moved on to target newspapers by referring to the "FETÖ", which is held responsible for the coup attempt on July 15, 2016, as well as to the "HDPKK", compounding the the abbreviations of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) and Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK):
"You have a newspaper like BirGün anyhow. You have a newspaper like Cumhuriyet somehow or other. You have a media outlet like Sözcü. There is the social media network of the FETÖ ["Fethullahist Terrorist Organization"]. There is the full support of the HDPKK..."
Further in his statement, Soylu has argued that he is "most successful" in ridding the country of the mafia and addressed Peker in the following words: "If you had any contact with me at any point in your life and if it is proven, I consent to all types of punishments, including capital punishment, and all types of humilitation before the eyes of our glorious nation."
To Ağar: I hope it is a distortion
Minister Soylu has also attached a note to his statement about a recent statement made by Mehmet Ağar, a former Minister of Interior.
Speaking to Saygı Öztürk from Sözcü newspaper, Mehmet Ağar reportedly referred to a marina in Bodrum and said, "What will happen after we are removed from here is obvious: The mafia will come down on it. If the mafia cannot enter here today, it is because we are here."
Soylu has said that "he is still awaiting a retraction" for this sentence, thinking that "it was perhaps a slip of the tongue." "I hope that is the distortion of the disrespectful journalist," Soylu has said, referring to Saygı Öztürk's first name, which means "respect" in Turkish.
Following this statement, Mehmet Ağar has answered the questions of Erdoğan Aktaş from Sözcü TV and apologized for his statement.
Ağar has said that "it was a slip of the tongue in anger," adding, "The members of the security organization are our very precious friends. They are giving a hard time to organized crime groups in Turkey. It is totally wrong for me to use this expression. Especially Dear Mr. Interior Minister... I am really following him with praise. He is pursuing his duty extremely successfully."
(DŞ/SD)
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