Prosecutors in İstanbul have reopened the investigation into the 2011 death of National Intelligence Organization (MİT) officer Kaşif Kozinoğlu, leading to the detention of 10 suspects.
The Silivri Chief Public Prosecutor's Office on Sep 7 overturned a previous decision not to prosecute the death of Kozinoğlu, who had died under suspicious conditions while in detention at the Silivri Prison.
Kozinoğlu was initially detained in March 2011 as part of the "Ergenekon" trials, a series of high profile legal proceedings in Turkey from 2008 to 2019 where 275 people, including high ranking military officers, opposition politicians, journalists and lawyers were accused of being part of a clandestine organization named "Ergenekon."
The suspects were accused of plotting a coup against the government. The trials ended after a court concluded that such an organization did not exist.
Kozinoğlu died on Nov 12, 2011, only 13 days before he was supposed to appear before a court. He fell ill in prison and lost his life shortly after being transferred to Silivri State Hospital.
His cause of death was announced as heart attack. However, his son, Özel Kozinoğlu, claimed that his father had no heart problems whatsoever.
In the investigation conducted following the initial incident, camera recordings and medical documents were examined. Statements from the penal enforcement institution, gendarmerie, medical personnel and cellmates were also taken. In Apr 2012, the prosecution office issued a decision that there were no grounds for prosecution and closed the file.
ERGENEKON INVESTIGATION
Member of National Intelligence Agency Arrested
As part of the reopened investigation, the prosecutor’s office initiated legal action against 11 subjects serving at the penal execution institution on the date of the incident. Ten of them were detained.
Justice Minister Akın Gürlek had announced that the file regarding Kozinoğlu's death was being re-examined by the Department for Investigation of Unsolved Crimes, an initiative launched by the ministry in recent months:
“In light of the evaluations made by our Silivri Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, the non-prosecution decision was lifted by the decision of the Silivri Peace Criminal Court dated August 26, 2026, and the investigation was reopened.
"Within the scope of the new investigation, a confidentiality order was issued, a special investigation team was formed, and comprehensive efforts aimed at shedding light on all aspects of the incident afresh were launched.
"At the stage reached today, legal action has been initiated by our Silivri Chief Public Prosecutor's Office against 11 suspects who were serving in the penal execution institution on the date of the incident, 10 suspects have been detained, and 1 suspect was determined to be abroad as a FETÖ fugitive.”
Who is Kaşif Kozinoğlu?
Upon graduating from the Turkish Military Academy in 1976, Kozinoğlu served in the Turkish Armed Forces. In 1986, he was placed in charge of Special Operations teams training.
In 1987, he took part in the establishment of an MİT unit intended to operate abroad. Under the instructions of Hakan Fidan, who served as the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the time, Kozinoğlu was assigned to the Asia Region with the title of "Chief Advisor” in September 2010.
Kozinoğlu went on to serve in Syria, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Afghanistan. He rose all the way to the Head of the Department of Foreign Operations at MİT.
On Mar 10, 2011, an investigation was launched against him within the scope of the Ergenekon and Odatv cases on charges of "being a member of an armed terrorist organization" and "obtaining and leaking cosmic state documents." He was arrested and held at Silivri No. 1 L-Type Prison.
(IK/HA)
