What happened during Kozinoglu’s final 29 minutes? Why was there no doctor in the ambulance?

Four people have so far been arrested in connection with the suspicious death of Kashif Kozinoglu, who served as the chief adviser for Asia at Türkiye’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT) and died at Silivri Prison eight months after being arrested in 2011 as part of the Odatv investigation.

Two emergency medical technicians (EMTs) who arrived at the prison by ambulance and provided the initial medical intervention after Kozinoglu’s condition deteriorated are also among those arrested on charges of “intentional homicide.”

According to statements obtained by DW Türkçe from the two EMTs, who deny the charges against them, a suspicious situation may have occurred on the day Kozinoglu’s condition deteriorated.

What happened on the day of the incident?

In testimony before the court, EMT Özlem U., who was 26 at the time of the incident, described what happened that day and noted that normally there should have been a doctor in the No. 2 ambulance stationed inside the prison, where they also provided medical services.

Özlem U. said that the doctor had been assigned elsewhere that day:

“For this reason, there was no doctor in our ambulance. A new doctor had not been assigned either. Normally, in such cases, a doctor from another team should have come.”

Before leaving the prison, Özlem U. said they informed the 112 Command Center that they were going to eat and stated:

“I do not remember what time we left the prison, nor do I remember where we went to eat.”

Özlem U. said that while they were eating, they received an emergency call and immediately left the table and went to the section of the prison where Kashif Kozinoglu was being held.

Upon reaching the prison’s prisoner reception area, Özlem U. said there were no signs of life in the patient and continued:

“However, because they said the patient had been talking immediately before we arrived, we tried to resuscitate him.”

Özlem U. said that an EMT, Emre A., had been assigned to them that day instead of a doctor:

“This employee was also new to the position. I was surprised that he had been sent.”

“We performed CPR, but there was no activity on the ECG”

Özlem U. said Emre A. established intravenous access for Kozinoglu at her instruction and continued:

“While I was performing CPR, Emre administered 1 mg of adrenaline to the patient. When we saw no activity on the ECG, I told the driver to issue a blue code and request a team with a doctor. We then got into the ambulance and set off.”

Özlem U. said the ambulance driver contacted another ambulance, No. 3, and added:

“After passing the Kınalı toll booths, we stopped. A very short time later, the other ambulance arrived. The personnel in the other ambulance got into ours. As soon as they got in, paramedic Nesrin continued performing CPR. We waited on the road throughout the intubation procedure. We continued CPR and administering adrenaline.”

Özlem U. said there was still no activity on the ECG at that time.

Saying that she had performed her duties from the very beginning, Özlem U. testified:

“Seeing the patient’s condition, we requested an ambulance with a doctor on board. However, we did not wait at all. I believe I provided effective intervention. Since there was no team with a doctor, a paramedic team was sent.”

Özlem U. said they later arrived at Silivri State Hospital and that the driver of the other ambulance followed them as well.

She said they informed the doctor about the patient’s condition and handed him over, but did not know what happened afterward. Özlem U. also stated that she did not know Kozinoglu and learned who he was at the scene.

“I had been a civil servant for two months at the time; it was my first day on the job”

EMT Emre A., who was 23 at the time of the incident, also said in his testimony that he had only been a civil servant for two months.

Saying that he had not even completed all of his on-the-job training, he told the court:

“On the day of the incident, on the instructions of the chief physician working at the 112 Command Center, I was sent from Beylikdüzü No. 1 Emergency Medical Station to Silivri No. 2 Emergency Medical Station due to a shortage of personnel. It was my first day working at that station. At around 18:00, we left the prison and, if I remember correctly, went to Hayat Hospital to eat. We had just started eating when the call came in. We immediately left. I simply carried out the tasks assigned to me.”

During the questioning before the court, Emre A.’s lawyer, Nazan Turkdogan, also said that her client had never been to Silivri before and had never worked at the prison.

Lawyer Turkdogan said:

“My client and his teammates were eating when they were informed about a patient. The information was given only in the form of ‘there is a patient whose condition has deteriorated.’ My client and his colleagues then went to the scene and intervened. My client had no information about the identity of the person. When they saw that there was no heartbeat, my client and his colleagues requested a team with a doctor. They reported that the situation was serious. However, they were told that there was no team with a doctor, and a paramedic arrived later. My client performed CPR, and they did not stop CPR at any point.”

Kozinoglu’s final moments

According to documents included in the case file, Kashif Kozinoglu suffered a medical problem at 17:56 on November 12, 2011, at Silivri No. 1 L-Type Closed Prison, where he was being held as a prisoner.

Retired officers Hasan Atilla Ugur and Hasan Ataman Yıldırım, who were also being held in the same cell as part of the “Ergenekon” investigation, noticed the situation and pressed the emergency call button at 18:08.

Prison guards who entered the cell removed Kozinoglu on a stretcher at 18:25 and carried him through the corridors and seven separate doors to the prisoner reception gate, where the 112 emergency ambulance was expected to arrive.

According to the allegation, Kozinoglu was breathing and talking at that time.

At 18:37, the 112 emergency ambulance arrived at the gate. In other words, the ambulance reached the gate 29 minutes after the emergency call button had been pressed.

According to notes in the investigation file, the first medical team that arrived intervened on Kozinoglu between 18:37 and 18:47.

Kozinoglu was placed in the ambulance and taken to hospital.

At 19:00, the ambulance stopped on the highway and medical intervention continued for some time. During this time, a paramedic team also arrived at the scene in another ambulance.

The ambulance carrying Kozinoglu arrived at Silivri Hospital at 19:10.

It took 23 minutes for the ambulance to travel from Silivri Prison to Silivri State Hospital.

Source: "DW Türkçe"

Author: Alican Uludag

Translated by: Giymat Mahir