Sedat Peker

Sedat Peker
Born
Sedat Peker

(1970-12-01) 1 December 1970 (age 55)
Adapazarı, Sakarya, Turkey
Other nameReis Sedat Peker
OccupationsMafia boss, YouTuber
Years active1990–present
Known forTurkish mafia activities, whistle-blowing
Spouses
Beyza Peker
​
(before 2001)​
Özge Peker
​
(m. 2008)​
Children5
Websitewww.sedatpeker.com

Reis Sedat Peker (Turkish: [(re'jis) seˈdat peˈcæɾ]; born 1 December 1970) is a Turkish mafia leader and whistle-blower who has made multiple allegations regarding Turkish politicians and alleged government involvement in illegal activities through his YouTube channel. He identifies himself as a pan-Turkist and Turanist.

Early life and education

Sedat was born in Adapazarı, in the Turkish province of Sakarya. He spent considerable time in Germany. In a 1999 interview with Milliyet he self-identified as a pan-Turkist and Turanist.

Career

Peker was tried in 1997 for the murder of the drug smuggler Abdullah Topçu, but was acquitted. The two other defendants in the same case, alleged to be Peker's employees, were sentenced to life imprisonment. After the acquittal, he fled to Romania and was sought for, amongst others, protection racketeering, coercion, and incitement to murder. During this time it was reported that Peker had been visited by a minister and a member of parliament from the Motherland Party and guaranteed, in return for an unknown favor, to be only imprisoned for a short period of time. As of 2022, Peker revealed that the favour that secured his release was to turn in a cassette footage of then PM Mesut Yılmaz being beaten up in Hungary because of his gambling debts.

On 17 August 1998, Peker was brought to Turkey in his own free will and surrendered to the authorities. The case against him was opened in September 1998. He pleaded guilty to the crimes for which he was accused and the court found him guilty of building a criminal organization. During the trial, Peker made some remarks without further explanation: "An older member of parliament sent me an SMS which said I shouldn't behave too arrogantly. I would like to tell you (the court) everything, because if I don't it could come to pass that I commit suicide under suspicious circumstances." The prosecutors requested at least 7½ years' imprisonment, but Peker was only sentenced to eight months and 29 days. He was released on 24 May 1999.

In May 2005, he was arrested during Operation Butterfly. On 31 January 2007, he was again found guilty of building and leading a criminal organization, robbery, forgery, and two counts of false imprisonment, and sentenced to 14 years and five months.

Peker is allegedly a member of the underground Turkish organization Ergenekon, and Veli Küçük stated in 2008 that Peker was the "son of a friend." so on 5 August 2013, Peker was sentenced to ten years in prison as part of the Ergenekon trials; however, he and other convicts (Doğu Perinçek, Kemal Kerinçsiz and Tuncay Özkan) were released a few months later.

On 13 January 2016, Peker issued death threats against academics who signed the petition for peace with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in a statement on his personal website. He was prosecuted for this, but was acquitted in July 2018.

In early 2020, he went from Turkey to Montenegro, then he left the Balkans to Morocco, and later to the United Arab Emirates.[citation needed]

Whistle-blower

In May 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey, he started a confession video series on YouTube announcing one video each Sunday about the deep state in Turkey. He accused Tolga Ağar, son of former interior minister Mehmet Ağar, of raping and murdering Kazakh student Yeldana Kaharman. In addition, he alleged Mehmet Ağar's role in the killing of Kutlu Adalı, and alleged Ağar's involvement, along with former Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım's son Erkam, in an international drug trafficking scheme. He later accused SADAT, founded by retired Brigadier General and former presidential advisor Adnan Tanrıverdi, of being involved in the arms shipment to Al-Nusra Front during the Syrian Civil War.

On December 12, 2021, 140journos released a documentary on YouTube featuring him and some prominent journalists and political figures like former Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç of Turkey. The documentary touched on the impact of the deep state in Turkey on the political and judicial system and how Sedat Peker's involvement with the government scandals started. He also accuses the Minister of the interior, Süleyman Soylu, of having betrayed him after having protected him.

Late 2021 - present

Since late 2021, Peker has remained largely based in the UAE and has not resumed the political video campaign that made him a prominent figure in Turkish public life, following his 2021 allegations against senior officials. Turkish authorities have continued to seek his extradition and he remains subjected to related legal proceedings. During 2025 and 2026, Peker gradually reemerged in public life, primarily through charitable donations and support of high profile causes rather than further political allegations. In December 2025, he broke approximately four years of public silence with an audio message concerning aid for animal shelters, and in January 2026 he was reported to have made substantial donations to people in need. On August 28, 2026, he posted on social media that he would "return" to purchase a building after "doors had been closed in his face", a statement that prompted renewed speculation about a possible return to Turkey. However, the message specified no date or concrete plan, and there is no confirmed indication that his legal situation had changed.

Personal life

On 30 May 2008, during his incarceration, Peker married his lawyer, Özge Yılmaz.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Sedat Peker'in ilk eşi Beyza kim, kaç yaşında?". Ortadoğu. 26 April 2026. Retrieved 6 July 2026.
  2. ↑ "Sedat Peker hakkında yakalama kararı". T24 (in Turkish). Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  3. ↑ "ODATV - Haberler, Son Dakika Haberleri ve Güncel Haberler".
  4. ↑ "Sedat Peker kimdir - Biyografi.net.tr" (in Turkish). Retrieved 7 December 2021.
  5. ↑ "Sedat Peker kimdir?". www.biyografi.info (in Turkish). Retrieved 7 December 2021.
  6. ↑ "Biyografi". 17 May 2021. Archived from the original on 17 May 2021. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
  7. ↑ Haber3 (6 December 2006). "Sedat Peker'in yeni oyunu". Haber3 (in Turkish). Retrieved 18 June 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  8. ↑ "Mafia Boss's Youtube Claims Rattle Turkish Government". theguardian.com. 30 May 2021.
  9. ↑ "Peker videos: Gang leader's claims rattle Turkish government". BBC. 25 May 2021.
  10. 1 2 3 4 "Sedat Peker kimdir: 1990'lardan bu yana 'mafya operasyonlarının' en önemli isimlerinden biri". BBC News Türkçe (in Turkish). 20 May 2021. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
  11. ↑ Indictment in the Ergenekon case, page 303 Archived 2016-10-11 at the Wayback Machine (Turkish).
  12. ↑ "Sedat Peker'den Mehmet Cengiz ile Mesut Yılmaz'a dair iddialar ve video açıklaması".
  13. 1 2 "Sedat Peker Acquitted of Trial of Threatening Academics". Bianet. 16 July 2018.
  14. ↑ Today's Zaman, 1 February 2007, Sedat Peker sentenced to 14 years of jail Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine
  15. ↑ Sedat Peker'e 14 yıl hapis cezası, Hürriyet, retrieved 26 October 2008.
  16. ↑ Sedat peker is tried again, Sabah (Turkish)
  17. ↑ Turkey: Trial against „Ergenekon“-Conspirators begins, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, (German)
  18. ↑ Today's Zaman, 21 March 2008, Ultra-nationalist mobster questioned over Ergenekon Archived 2015-05-18 at the Wayback Machine
  19. ↑ Today's Zaman, 5 August 2013, Long sentences for Ergenekon suspects, life for ex-army chief Archived 2013-08-06 at the Wayback Machine
  20. ↑ "LOCAL - Notorious criminal threatens academics calling for peace in Turkey's southeast". Retrieved 30 March 2016.
  21. ↑ "Sedat Peker, Berat Albayrak'ın abisine seslendi: Ben devletin karakolunda milletvekilinin kemiklerini kırdırdım". birgun.net (in Turkish). 9 May 2021.
  22. ↑ "Turkey's 'wicked messenger' has gone viral. Here's why". thenationalnews.com. 24 May 2021.
  23. ↑ "Kutlu Adalı cinayeti: Sedat Peker'in iddialarının ardından 'Soruşturma yeniden açılsın' çağrıları yapılıyor". BBC News Türkçe (in Turkish). Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  24. ↑ "Turkish mafia boss claims former PM's son, ex-minister part of int'l drug trafficking scheme". duvarenglish.com. 23 May 2021.
  25. ↑ "Sedat Peker'in iddialarına SADAT'ın yanıtı ne oldu, Bayırbucak Türkmenleri ne diyor?". BBC (in Turkish). 30 May 2021.
  26. ↑ "Sedat Peker aylar sonra kamera karşısında: 140journos'tan Sedat Peker belgeseli". cumhuriyet.com.tr (in Turkish). 12 December 2021.
  27. ↑ M@Rt1n@Sl@n (9 November 2022). "Mafias and the Turkish state". Ost Konflikt. Retrieved 9 May 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  28. ↑ "Sedat Peker Dönüyor mu? "Geri Döneceğim" Mesajı Gündemi Salladı". NetGaste (in Turkish). 29 August 2026. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
  29. ↑ "Sedat Peker dört yıl sonra sessizliğini bozdu: İlk ses kaydı". KARAR (in Turkish). 26 December 2025. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
  30. ↑ Orhan, Zeynep (23 January 2026). "İsyanını dile getirdi, yaşadığı zorlukları anlattı! Tarım işçisinin yardımına Sedat Peker koştu: 2,5 milyon lira yardım yaptı". KARAR (in Turkish). Retrieved 1 September 2026.
  31. ↑ trabzonunsesi.com, 14 June 2008, Sedat Peker Avukatıyla Evlendi (Turkish)