The accusations of Sedat Peker, mafioso on the run and former close to power, led to the resignation of two advisers to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
On August 29, in the town of Milas, in the south-west of Turkey, the police arrest a man suspected of wanting to leave the country illegally by sea. He is neither a left-wing activist nor a urdish activist, nor a member of the Gülen brotherhood, many of them try to reach the Greek islands among Afghan or Syrian refugees in search of a better life in Europe. Ünsal Ban, he is the former rector of the Aeronautical University of Turkey and especially the husband of a deputy of the AKP, the Islamo-nationalist party in power, whose marriage had been celebrated by the president Recep Tayyip Erdogan himself.
Sedat Peker’s accusations against the Turkish power
What is worth to Ünsal Ban to be thus handcuffed and placed in preventive detention? He is suspected of having communicated information to a figure known to everyone in Turkey, the godfather of the underworld Sedat Peker. Formerly close to power, this far-right mafioso who has fallen into disgrace has found refuge in the United Arab Emirates, from where he has been multiplying explosive revelations since last year (hijackings, assassinations, drug trafficking, etc.).
Sedat Peker’s latest accusations relate to a corruption network targeting Turkish companies seeking to go public. An adviser to President Erdogan has been sacked. Another resigned for health reasons. As for the AKP MP, she cries out for slander and a set-up by her own husband. Because the mafioso also implicated his brother, director of the Capital Markets Council, the public body responsible for regulating the stock market.
On August 29, in the town of Milas, in the south-west of Turkey, the police arrest a man suspected of wanting to leave the country illegally by sea. He is neither a left-wing activist nor a urdish activist, nor a member of the Gülen brotherhood, many of them try to reach the Greek islands among Afghan or Syrian refugees in search of a better life in Europe. Ünsal Ban, he is the former rector of the Aeronautical University of Turkey and especially the husband of a deputy of the AKP, the Islamo-nationalist party in power, whose marriage had been celebrated by the president Recep Tayyip Erdogan himself.
What is worth to Ünsal Ban to be thus handcuffed and placed in preventive detention? He is suspected of having communicated information to a figure known to everyone in Turkey, the godfather of the underworld Sedat Peker. Formerly close to power, this far-right mafioso who has fallen into disgrace has found refuge in the United Arab Emirates, from where he has been multiplying explosive revelations since last year (hijackings, assassinations, drug trafficking, etc.).
Sedat Peker ‘s latest accusations relate to a corruption network targeting Turkish companies seeking to go public. An adviser to President Erdogan has been sacked. Another resigned for health reasons. As for the AKP MP, she cries out for slander and a set-up by her own husband. Because the mafioso also implicated his brother, director of the Capital Markets Council, the public body responsible for regulating the stock market.
Punishment of the ballot boxes?
A few resignations, which are so many confessions of guilt, are not enough. A courageous prosecutor would have to stop these bandits who have plagued the state. But justice is at the orders of power”, denounces lawyer Sevda Erdan Kiliç, deputy of the CHP, the main opposition party. She unsuccessfully requested the opening of a parliamentary inquiry into these multiple accusations.
Failing this, she hopes for a sanction at the ballot box, during the presidential and legislative elections in the spring of 2023: While the country is sinking into the economic crisis [80% inflation], millions of young people are unemployed, the power and his relatives get rich by plundering the country, I doubt that the voters appreciate. According to a recent opinion poll, more than 70% of Turks believe Sedat Peker, who promised new revelations, while more and more polls give the AKP and Erdogan beaten.
