Kaşif Kozinoğlu (1955,
Trabzon – 13 November 2011,
Istanbul) was a senior
Turkish intelligence official in the
National Intelligence Organization (MIT). He died of an apparent heart attack in prison, shortly before he was due to give evidence in the
Ergenekon trials, in which he was considered a suspect.[1][2] His death was considered suspicious and investigated by prosecutors.[3][4][5]
He was arrested in 2011 on charges of passing information to
odatv.com, which prosecutors allege is part of
Ergenekon.[8][9][10] He told prosecutors that he had been in contact with
Alaettin Çakıcı as part of an attempt to prevent an assassination of a high-profile politician.[11]Mehmet Eymür told Ergenekon prosecutors that Kozinoğlu had ordered the assassination of
Kurdish politician
Murat Bozlak,[1] while
Akın Birdal has suggested Kozinoğlu was part of the team which attempted to assassinate him in 1998.[12] Kozinoğlu is said to have monitored MIT chief
Hakan Fidan.[13]