Raci Şaşmaz gave a statement as part of the investigation conducted by the Silivri Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office into the death of Kaşif Kozinoğlu, a former National Intelligence Organization official who died at Silivri Prison in 2011.
Speaking to prosecutors at Silivri Courthouse, Şaşmaz said he had worked as a screenwriter for the television series Valley of the Wolves for many years. He argued that the series had been targeted in an effort to discredit it through claims that it promoted violence and obtained information and documents.
Şaşmaz says the series had no links to criminal groups
Şaşmaz said Valley of the Wolves drew on open sources to present social events to viewers in a drama format. He said the series had no connection with any legal or illegal power or criminal group.
Şaşmaz said the character “Kaşifoğlu” was created to depict conflicts within the intelligence community and was removed from the series after the character’s story was completed. Arguing that the death of the character could not have meant that the death of a real person was known in advance, Şaşmaz said the character “İskender Büyük” was also killed within the fiction despite being linked to real people.
Şaşmaz said investigating Kozinoğlu’s death was the prosecutor’s responsibility and that they wanted those responsible to be identified if the death involved murder or negligence.
He denied claims circulating on social media
In his statement, Şaşmaz denied claims that Ali Fuat Yılmazer had interfered in the script and said he did not know Yılmazer. He also said claims that a message about Erdoğan and his family had been conveyed through a gravestone shown in the series were untrue.
Şaşmaz said the gravestone could have been a real one or a fake stone prepared by the production crew. He said covering gravestones was not common practice when the scenes were filmed and that he did not remember the details because of the time that had passed.
Şaşmaz said screenwriters did not control the license plates on the vehicles used in the series. He said no plates were altered except for the plate “34 PLT 34,” that many vehicles were rented for the episodes and that changing license plates was not common at the time.
Şaşmaz also denied claims that Hasan Atilla Uğur had interfered in the script. He said he had met Uğur through Osman Sınav but did not have a personal relationship with him.
Şaşmaz explains Osman Sınav’s departure from the series
Şaşmaz said Osman Sınav sometimes wanted to offer opinions and advice about the script, but he declined because he did not consider it appropriate. Şaşmaz said Sınav later told him that he had received threats and had children, and stated that his departure from the series was connected to this process.
Şaşmaz said he had no connection to the YouTube account opened in the name of Valley of the Wolves or Pana Film. He argued that posts about edits made through that account on social media were not connected to them.
Şaşmaz also claimed that the films Valley of the Wolves: Gladio and Valley of the Wolves: Palestine were productions that had disturbed the FETÖ organization. He said he had taken part in clashes in Çengelköy on the night of July 15 and had identified some defendants in the trials in Silivri, adding that he did not accept being associated with the organization.
Previous proceedings in the Kozinoğlu investigation
Justice Minister Akın Gürlek had said Kozinoğlu was taken to hospital after falling ill on November 12, 2011, while being held at Silivri No. 1 L-Type Closed Penal Institution, and was found to have died upon arrival at the hospital.
Gürlek said the initial investigation examined camera footage and medical documents, and statements were taken from prison, gendarmerie and healthcare personnel, as well as Kozinoğlu’s cellmates and wife. He said a decision of non-prosecution was issued on April 10, 2012.
Following a renewed examination of the case file, the Silivri Criminal Judgeship of Peace lifted the non-prosecution decision in a ruling dated August 26, 2026, and reopened the investigation. A confidentiality order was issued in the new investigation, a special team was formed and proceedings were initiated against 11 suspects who had been working at the penal institution at the time of the incident.
Ten of these suspects were detained, while one was identified as a FETÖ fugitive residing abroad. One of the 10 detainees was remanded in custody, and the other nine were released under judicial control.
As the investigation continued, nine more suspects—including one reporter, one cameraman and seven healthcare workers—were detained. The judgeship ordered three of them to be remanded in custody and placed the other six under judicial control.
Following these proceedings, the number of suspects in custody in the investigation rose to four, while the number under judicial control rose to 13. An exhumation was also carried out to determine Kozinoğlu’s exact cause of death and whether third-party involvement played a role in his death.
Bahadır Özdener and Cüneyt Aysan, the screenwriters of Valley of the Wolves, were also summoned to give statements as persons with knowledge of the investigation.
