Major secret revealed after 15 years: Could Kashif Kozinoglu’s death investigation extend to Baku?

The criminal investigation into the death of Kashif Kozinoglu has been reopened after 15 years, and several people have been detained as suspects in connection with the case.

The issue has been among the main topics in both the Turkish and Azerbaijani media for days.

It is known that Kozinoglu spent a period of time in Azerbaijan. In the early 1990s, he played a historic role in the establishment of the Azerbaijani National Army and in organizing special operations during the Karabakh war.

Could the period he spent in Azerbaijan also be investigated?

Speaking to TodayPress TV, political analyst Anar Isayev said that, from a legal and investigative perspective, it is possible to examine the period when Kashif Kozinoglu was in Azerbaijan.

However, according to him, there must first be a concrete fact or reasonable suspicion demonstrating a connection between his activities in Azerbaijan and the criminal investigation into his death:

“There are several points that need to be distinguished here. The reopening of the case means that Turkish investigative authorities are reassessing the previous official version of Kozinoglu’s death and examining other aspects of the incident based on new evidence, testimony or information provided by suspects. Kozinoglu’s activities in Azerbaijan could potentially be relevant to the investigation. If there is information about his contacts with certain individuals, interactions with intelligence services, specific operations, financial or other connections during his time in Azerbaijan, as well as important events that occurred before his return to Türkiye, these could be investigated in terms of the motive for his death and possible connections.”

The analyst also touched on an important issue:

“Türkiye cannot independently conduct an investigation in Azerbaijan. If the Turkish investigation raises questions regarding the period when he was in Azerbaijan, matters such as legal assistance, questioning witnesses, obtaining documents, and examining telephone and financial records could be carried out through Azerbaijani law enforcement authorities. The most important issue is when, under what status and in connection with what activities Kozinoglu was in Azerbaijan. The mere fact that he lived or operated in Azerbaijan is not, by itself, grounds for automatically considering that period suspicious within the framework of the criminal investigation.

I believe this is precisely the most interesting aspect of the matter: if the newly reopened Turkish investigation is examining a theory that Kozinoglu’s death was connected to his intelligence activities and previous contacts, then it is a sufficiently logical possibility that the period of his activities in Azerbaijan could also become part of the investigation. This is particularly the case if the information he obtained, the contacts he established and the operations he carried out during that period can be linked to subsequent events.”

It should be noted that Kashif Kozinoglu died at the Silivri correctional facility in November 2011. Some reports have claimed that Kozinoglu died just three days after the death of a character allegedly based on him in the TV series “Valley of the Wolves: Ambush.” However, this is not correct. The character Kashifoglu was killed in episode 139, which aired in December, one month after the death of the former MİT official.

The decision to bring Kozinoglu’s suspicious death back into the spotlight and to exhume his grave has led to various claims.

The investigation into the matter is ongoing.

Giymat Mahir