Zihni Çakır (born 1969,
Nizip
Nizip ( gkm, Nisibis or Nisibina; ota, نزيب) is a town and district of Gaziantep Province of southeastern Turkey.
As of 2010, the population of the city is 96,229. It is located 45 km from the city of Gaziantep, 95 km from Şanlıu ...
) is a
Turkish
Turkish may refer to:
*a Turkic language spoken by the Turks
* of or about Turkey
** Turkish language
*** Turkish alphabet
** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
*** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey
*** Turkish communities and mi ...
journalist and author known for publishing several books on the
Ergenekon organization.
Background
Çakır was born in 1969 in
Nizip
Nizip ( gkm, Nisibis or Nisibina; ota, نزيب) is a town and district of Gaziantep Province of southeastern Turkey.
As of 2010, the population of the city is 96,229. It is located 45 km from the city of Gaziantep, 95 km from Şanlıu ...
,
Gaziantep Province
Gaziantep Province ( tr, ) is a province in south-central Turkey. It is located in the westernmost part of Turkey's Southeastern Anatolia Region and partially in the Mediterranean Region. Its capital is the city of Gaziantep. It neighbours Ad ...
, and graduated from
Ankara University
Ankara University ( tr, Ankara Ãœniversitesi) is a public university in Ankara, the capital city of Turkey. It was the first higher education institution founded in Turkey after the formation of the republic in 1923.
The university has 40 vocat ...
Faculty of Communication. He worked in various media as a correspondent and in managerial roles; at one point he was editor-in-chief of ''Türkeli'', a publication associated with
Vatansever Kuvvetler Güç Birliği Hareketi.
Books
Çakır has published several books on the
Ergenekon organization.
In 2008 Çakır was sentenced to 18 months in prison for "violating the secrecy of an investigation" in relation to the
Ergenekon trials
The Ergenekon trials were a series of high-profile trials which took place on 2008–2016 in Turkey in which 275 people, including military officers, journalists and opposition lawmakers, all alleged members of Ergenekon, a suspected secularist ...
. In 2009 Çakır complained that a court had forced him to reveal sources relating to his book ''Kod adı darbe''. Among other topics this book "argued that
–zdemirSabancı’s murder was organized by
Abdullah Çatlı
Abdullah Çatlı (1 June 1956 – 3 November 1996) was a Turkish secret government agent, as well as a contract killer for the National Intelligence Organization (MİT). He led the Grey Wolves, the youth branch of the Nationalist Movement Party ...
, Hüseyin Kocadağ and military officer Hüseyin Pepekal."
Çakır said in 2008 that the head of Ergenekon, known to him only as "Number One", was involved in the
1997 military memorandum. He later told the Ergenekon trials that the man had visited the ''Türkeli'' newspaper while he worked there.
Today's Zaman
''Today's Zaman'' (Zaman is Turkish for 'time' or 'age') was an English-language daily newspaper based in Turkey. Established on 17 January 2007, it was the English-language edition of the Turkish daily '' Zaman.'' ''Today's Zaman'' included dom ...
, 17 July 2012
Witness Çakır describes Ergenekon’s mysterious No. 1
Bibliography
* ''Ergenekon'un çöküşü'' ("The Collapse of Ergenekon"), NEDEN? KİTAP, 2008
* ''Kod adı darbe: Gizli Belgeler,Telefon Dinleme Kayıtları ve Krokilerle Ergenekon'un Kodları'' ("Codename coup"), NEDEN? KİTAP, 2008
* ''Ergenekon'un çöküşü 2: Dünden bugüne devletin derinliklerindeki kirli ilişkiler'', NEDEN? KİTAP, 2008
* ''Gladio Korku Ä°mparatorluÄŸu '', PROFÄ°L YAYINCILIK, 2009
* ''Konsept Savaşı: Ercümen-i Daniş Sarmalında''
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cakir, Zihni
1969 births
People from Nizip
Ankara University alumni
Living people
Turkish journalists
Turkish writers