The investigation into the suspicious death of Kaşif Kozinoğlu, the former head of the MİT Department of External Operations, at Silivri Prison in 2011 was reopened 15 years later. As part of the investigation conducted by Silivri Deputy Chief Public Prosecutor Ebubekir Efe, a decision was made to exhume Kozinoğlu’s grave in Istanbul’s Ümraniye Hekimbaşı district. The tissue samples to be collected will undergo toxicological and chemical examination; allegations that he was given a different medication in prison and regarding the medications he requested will be investigated.
The physical copy and original images of the handwritten defense statement Kozinoğlu prepared in his cell before his death have also been added to the case file. Referring to his 34-year professional career, Kozinoğlu argued that he had been targeted and made a “scapegoat”; denying the accusations, he stated that he did not know the defendants in the ODA TV case. He claimed that the digital evidence had been uploaded through a virus, that a folder had been created in 7 seconds, and that an ODTÜ report had questioned their reliability. He also alleged that MİT letters dated March 15, 2011 and April 6, 2011, which he said were in his favor, had not been included in the indictment.
Why it matters
The reopening of the case shows that assessments of how the death in 2011 occurred will not be based solely on records from that period. Samples to be taken from the grave will make it possible to test against physical findings the claims concerning medication use in prison. The physical defense and original images entered into the case file, meanwhile, create a record that will allow Kozinoğlu’s statements before his death to be assessed alongside the digital evidence and investigation documents. The key questions awaiting answers in this process will be whether the alleged medication change took place, the reliability of the digital records mentioned in the defense, and why the MİT letters said to have been in his favor were not included in the indictment. Thus, the investigation will re-examine both the cause of death and the evidentiary structure of the case file.