Zihni Çakır (born 1969, Nizip) is a Turkish journalist and author known for publishing several books on the Ergenekon organization.
Background Çakır was born in 1969 in Nizip, Gaziantep Province, and graduated from Ankara University 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.Tuncay Opçin, Yeni Aktüel, "Ergenekon'u çökerten" adamın bilinmeyen portresi ; undated, but evidently shortly after Çakır's arrest on 24 May 2008
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.Today's Zaman, 18 November 2008, Bianet, 27 May 2008, Ergenekon Investigation Takes In The Journalist Zihni Çakır In 2009 Çakır complained that a court had forced him to reveal sources relating to his book Kod adı darbe.Today's Zaman, 31 December 2009, Today's Zaman, 21 November 2008, - "Telephone conversations between Hakkı Yalçınkaya, judge of the Basic Criminal Court in Şişli district of Istanbul, and Kemal Kerinçsiz, lawyer and suspect of the Ergenekon case, have created a shocking impact. Yalçınkaya, during conversations, asked Kerincsez whether he had any command. Now, journalist-writer Zihni Çakır who was sentenced to imprisonment by Yalçınkaya for his books "Collapse of Ergenekon 1-2" is getting ready to denounce the judge to the Prosecutor's Office" Among other topics this book "argued that [Özdemir] Sabancı’s murder was organized by Abdullah Çatlı, Hüseyin Kocadağ and military officer Hüseyin Pepekal."Today's Zaman, 24 January 2009,
Çakır said in 2008 that the head of Ergenekon, known to him only as "Number One", was involved in the 1997 military memorandum.Today's Zaman, 28 July 2008, He later told the Ergenekon trials that the man had visited the Türkeli newspaper while he worked there.Today's Zaman, 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 İmparatorluğu , PROFİL YAYINCILIK, 2009 Konsept Savaşı: Ercümen-i Daniş Sarmalında
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