There were very special videos on YouTube that caused a stir in Turkey from May 2021: Sedat Peker, a nationally known criminal who had been an avowed follower of President Erdogan for years, reported from his exile in Dubai with explosive accusations against Turkish politics. Week after week, he talked about the involvement of high-ranking politicians and civil servants in criminal machinations, about close relationships between government circles and organized crime. What he portrayed sounded unbelievable: There was cooperation between state institutions and the mafia in Turkey! An outrageous accusation that could trigger a state crisis if it could be proven. The videos were viewed millions of times, more every week. But it was not just about individual revelations. Peker made no secret of the fact that his appearances were also to be understood as a threat to his former clients. "You will be defeated by a camera on a tripod," he announced one of his videos on Twitter. Turkish President Erdogan was also to be the subject of revelations. But then Sedat Peker's channel fell silent... One man in particular was electrified by the Peker videos: Can Dündar, a multi-award-winning Turkish journalist and filmmaker who has lived in exile in Germany since 2016. He had previously been arrested and imprisoned in Turkey after reporting in the Cumhuriyet newspaper on arms deals between the Erdogan government and Islamist militias in Syria. While he was still in prison, Sedat Peker had publicly threatened him with death. When an assassination attempt was actually made on him after his release, he went into exile in Germany. President Erdogan declared him a terrorist and demanded his extradition. The question of whether the "deep state", i.e. the collaboration between politics and organized crime, still exists in Turkey, runs like a thread through Can Dündar's journalistic work - not least because it has had such a concrete impact on his life on several occasions. The fact that answers to his questions could now come from a mafia boss who once wanted to see him dead is bitter irony - and incentive at the same time. For the ARD Story, Can Dündar and Stella Könemann embark on a filmic investigation into the trail of the exposé videos. Are Peker's videos more than the private revenge campaign of a once powerful criminal who feels betrayed? Are his allegations credible? Is the Turkish government really intertwined with a mafia system? The film explores these questions. It meticulously collects evidence and follows statements from insiders - and it also goes in search of the man who made all these allegations public. Sedat Peker. ???? If you liked this video, give us a like! ______ ???? A film for ARD Story by Can Dündar and Stella Könemann. This film was produced in 2024. All statements and facts correspond to the status at the time and have not been updated since then. ______ ???? More documentaries in the ARD Mediathek: https://1.ard.de/yt_doku?yt=d More documentaries on the topic: ???? Turkey: It's only cheap for tourists - • Turkey: It's only cheap for tourists ... ???? Elections in Turkey: Who will the young generation vote for? - • Elections in Turkey: Who will the young generation vote for? ???? Children of terrorists: This is how IS lives on - • Children of terrorists: This is how IS lives on... ???? Criminal clans and their million-dollar businesses - • Criminal clans and their million-dollar businesses... ______ #SedatPeker #Erdogan #WDRDoku #Mafia #Turkey