Kaşif Kozinoğlu investigation: Response from Hasan Atilla Uğur's lawyer to allegations regarding cell footage

Adnan Özdemir, the lawyer for retired Gendarmerie Colonel Hasan Atilla Uğur, who testified as a suspect in the investigation into the death of former MİT Central Asia Chief Advisor Kaşif Kozinoğlu at Silivri Prison in 2011, has responded to the allegations against his client in a written statement. Özdemir stated that Uğur was the first person to report Kozinoğlu's death and the one who enabled the reopening of the investigation, adding that the camera recordings of the cell were also included in the file at his client's request.

THEY REQUESTED THE CAMERA RECORDINGS BE INCLUDED IN THE FILE

Özdemir argued that there is no evidence against Uğur in the camera footage. Stating that Uğur rushed to help Kozinoğlu after he fell ill and pressed the emergency call button, Özdemir said, "It is clearly seen in the camera footage that my client immediately went to help the late Kaşif Kozinoğlu and pressed the emergency call button."

Özdemir noted that prison officials should normally have arrived at the cell within one minute at the latest, but that no official arrived for the first 10 minutes. Stating that Uğur hit the iron door with objects in his hand to call for help, Özdemir also stated that after Kozinoğlu was removed from the cell, he was kept inside the institution for 25 minutes before being transferred outside the prison.

"THERE IS NO 14 MINUTES OF DARKNESS"

Özdemir stated that the "14 minutes of darkness" allegations circulating in the public domain do not align with the camera recordings and included the following in his statement:

"We are addressing the public clearly on this matter: There is no 14 minutes of darkness! The time referred to as 'lights out' is 4:00 PM in broad daylight. Despite the camera footage being plain to see, attempting to create suspicion with a narrative contrary to the truth, such as '14 minutes of darkness,' serves no purpose other than to distort the investigation and the pursuit of the material truth."

STATEMENT REGARDING THE 2011 TESTIMONY

Addressing reports that Uğur did not accept his previous testimony, Özdemir claimed that the documents taken from Uğur and his other cellmate, Hasan Ataman Yıldırım, as witnesses in 2011 were forged in a manner contrary to their statements.

Özdemir argued that Uğur's "I don't remember" response to certain details during the prosecutor's interrogation should not be considered a contradiction or a sign of suspicion.

Stating that it is normal not to remember details such as whether blood pressure was 8/20 or 12/20, or the distance of the room from which a call was made, due to the 15 years that have passed, Özdemir assessed, "It is impossible to present this as a contradiction or a sign of suspicion."

The full statement is as follows;

"The person who enabled the reopening of this investigation, which was closed by FETÖ 14 years ago, and who was the first to report this suspicious death, is my client, Mr. Hasan Atilla Uğur.

My client has clearly and repeatedly explained why the suspicious death of the late Kaşif Kozinoğlu must be investigated, both in the petition he submitted to the Court in 2011 and in the book he wrote 8 years ago, in 2018, after the so-called investigation conducted at that time was closed.

Despite this, we see that a complete disinformation and information pollution is being created on social media today; and that purposeful comments with no legal value or logical basis are being served to the public. Such comments and distortions, far from contributing to the investigation reaching a real conclusion, will serve no purpose other than to distort the material truth.

In this respect, the following statement has become necessary:

1. My client, Hasan Atilla Uğur, personally requested that the camera recordings in the cell be obtained

First and foremost, we emphasize:

My client, Hasan Atilla Uğur, personally requested that the camera recordings in the cell be obtained.

The purposeful and malicious comments made today regarding these images have no alignment with the actual content of the footage.

There is no negative situation or evidence against my client in the content of the footage.

On the contrary; it is clearly seen in the camera footage that my client immediately went to help the late Kaşif Kozinoğlu and pressed the emergency call button.

It is also understood from the footage that the prison officials, who should have arrived within 1 minute at the latest under normal conditions, did not respond to this call and did not come to the cell in any way for the first 10 minutes.

Upon this, my client, with great effort, hit the iron door of the cell repeatedly with objects he took in his hand, called for help by making noise, and was ultimately able to ensure that help arrived.

Therefore, the camera recordings that are being attempted to be used today to create suspicion against my client actually show the exact opposite; they reveal that my client immediately rushed to the aid of the late Kaşif Kozinoğlu and made a great effort to ensure that prison officials arrived.

2. The deceased was kept waiting for 25 minutes after being removed from the cell before being taken outside the prison

It has been understood that after the late Kaşif Kozinoğlu was removed from the cell, he was kept waiting outside the cell but inside the prison for 25 minutes before being taken outside the prison.

The process of the ambulance's arrival, the length of the process of reaching the hospital, and the fact that the necessary intervention was not performed during this process cover a very important part of the ongoing investigation.

Each of these are matters that must be investigated separately and in all their details.

3. There is no "14 minutes of darkness"!

We are addressing the public clearly on this matter: There is no 14 minutes of darkness! The time referred to as "lights out" is 4:00 PM in broad daylight.

Despite the camera footage being plain to see, attempting to create suspicion with a narrative contrary to the truth, such as "14 minutes of darkness," serves no purpose other than to distort the investigation and the pursuit of the material truth.

The daylight coming from the windows into the common area of the cell and the brightness outside can be clearly seen, despite the low resolution of the camera footage.

It is obvious that the event took place in broad daylight, as seen in the footage of the courtyard where sports were being played and where one exits the common area of the cell at the same minutes.

It is unacceptable to create intentional information pollution in the public domain by claiming the opposite when all of this is evident from the footage. We clearly remind you that the information pollution created despite this reality may give rise to legal and criminal liability.

4. The true nature of the issue referred to as "he did not accept his previous testimony"

Let us come to the subject served to the public as "he did not accept his previous testimony." The matter referred to here as "testimony" consists of documents that were allegedly taken from both my client Hasan Atilla Uğur and Hasan Ataman Yıldırım as witnesses within the scope of the so-called investigation opened in 2011 regarding the death of Kaşif Kozinoğlu and closed hastily in 2012; but which were created contrary to their statements and prepared through forgery.

My client only became aware of these documents within the scope of this investigation, which has been reopened today.

My client has reiterated the statements he has persistently declared for approximately 15 years, consistently and stably, without any contradiction or change, today as well. As a matter of fact, my client submitted the exact same statements he gave today in writing to the Istanbul 13th High Criminal Court in 2011, in the first hearing of the Ergenekon Case, in which he was being tried as part of a FETÖ plot, in order to leave a note for history and to have them recorded.

Even this situation alone clearly proves the falsity of the documents in the investigation file and the event that was covered up at that time by committing an additional crime.

Therefore, it is absurd to claim that there is a contradiction between the forged documents in the first investigation file, which was closed by FETÖ, and the statements my client has consistently defended for approximately 15 years and his accounts in the current investigation that has been reopened today; and to claim that suspicion has arisen against my client based on this.

My client's account has not changed. There is no changed statement. What needs to be discussed is the forged document in the old investigation file.

5. The suspicion attempted to be created over the "I don't remember" statement

One of the issues where a perception of suspicion is being purposefully created on the grounds that my client said "I don't remember" is a detail that has no effect on the outcome of the event, such as whether the late Kaşif Kozinoğlu's blood pressure was 8/20 or 12/20.

The deceased's blood pressure was measured immediately with the blood pressure monitor in the cell. When it was seen that his blood pressure was very high, the deceased used the sublingual blood pressure medication that was in the cell and used for emergency intervention for high blood pressure, at his own request.

There is no negative or wrong situation here regarding my client.

Similarly, the fact that my client cannot remember with certainty today whether the late Kaşif Kozinoğlu called out by coming to the front of my client's room from rooms less than a meter apart, or whether he called out from his own room, is also being attempted to be made a subject of suspicion purposefully.

It is extremely natural that a secondary detail that does not change the essence and outcome of the event, such as exactly where the deceased was at the moment he called out between two rooms that are closer than a meter to each other, cannot be remembered with certainty when approximately 15 years have passed. It is impossible to present this as a contradiction or a sign of suspicion.

Attempting to create suspicion against my client based on the fact that it is not remembered with certainty today whether the blood pressure value was 8/20 or 12/20, or which of the two rooms separated by less than a meter the deceased was in front of at the moment he called out in an event that took place approximately 15 years ago, shows how far one has strayed from the essence of the event.

6. My client was released as a result of the evaluation of the file and the material truth

As a result of the evaluation of all these material facts and the content of the investigation file by the Public Prosecutor's Office, my client was released.

Our greatest expectation and official request is that this investigation be deepened, that it go into further detail, and that all question marks regarding the suspicious death of Kaşif Kozinoğlu be clarified completely.

Any perception being attempted to be created that my client is afraid of this or does not want the investigation to be deepened is baseless in the face of the approximately 15-year chronology we have explained above.

Because the person who wants this death to be investigated, who made a written application to the Court for this back in 2011, who did not agree to the matter being covered up despite the years passing, who brought the issue back to the agenda in the book he wrote in 2018, and who demands today that the investigation be deepened in all its aspects, is my client himself.

Other than this; malicious comments and distortions made without having any legal knowledge or competence in interpretation do not go beyond doing political gossip, even with the best intentions.

However, it should be known that, in essence, these approaches are nothing more than the special and intentional efforts of the managers, members, or sympathizers of the terrorist organization, whose targeting of my client is also proven by state records, to ensure that this investigation is distorted and remains inconclusive.

My client Hasan Atilla Uğur's request is extremely clear:

The suspicious death of Kaşif Kozinoğlu must be investigated to the end and the investigation must be deepened. We demand that the material truth be revealed completely.

We will not allow this investigation to be pulled in other directions with disinformation, purposeful comments, and information contrary to the truth.

We also clearly inform the public that we reserve all our legal and criminal rights regarding those who make false information and accusations about my client, distort the evidence in the investigation file, and publish with the intention of misleading the public."