BREAKING | 16 detained in new development in investigation into suspicious death of MIT official Kaşif Kozinoğlu

A new detention wave has emerged in the investigation into the suspicious death of Kaşif Kozinoğlu, a former chief adviser to Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization for Asia. Gendarmerie teams detained 16 people, including 15 guards who worked at Silivri Prison when Kozinoğlu was held there.

Kozinoğlu had been detained in Silivri in a case described by the article as an Ergenekon plot. He fell ill and died in his cell days before he was due to speak in court. The investigation is being coordinated by the Silivri Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office and a specially formed team within the Istanbul Provincial Gendarmerie Command.

The team is reportedly led by Captain Kerim Sarısakal, who had previously conducted several major investigations in the field, including drug investigations involving celebrities. The article says Deputy Chief Prosecutor Ebubekir Efe examined the case file as investigators pursued the circumstances of Kozinoğlu’s death.

According to the report, security-camera footage showed that an emergency button was pressed after Kozinoğlu became ill in his cell. The article also describes the file as indicating that his death was a planned assassination.

The latest detentions followed developments involving Ferhat Veysi Gül, a former prison guard who reportedly hid for six months in houses linked to the organization, enrolled at Fatih University and resigned from the profession. Investigators determined that he fled to France 17 days after the July 15 coup attempt.