The warrant was issued after Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu filed a lawsuit against Sedat Peker, who has made the minister a star of his “confession” videos, and a request by Ankara Public Prosecutor’s Office, reported the pro-government Daily Sabah.
Peker, who became a prominent mob leader in the nineties and served several years in jail, has released several videos on his YouTube channel this month, claiming that Soylu was involved in many crimes such as corruption, murder, rape, and had secret relations with mobs. Soylu has denied the accusations. Peker claims to currently live in Dubai.
The videos Peker shares on YouTube and tweets he makes have received millions of views, likes, comments and retweets. He has also rattled President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government, who affirmed his support for Soylu on Wednesday.
Turkish police detained Sedat’s brother, Attila, and a bodyguard on Sunday, based on a recent claim by Peker that his brother tried to kill a journalist some 25 years ago.
Soylu has been in office since 2016, widely praised by nationalist Turks mostly for crackdowns on dissidents.
