Cihan Alptekin (1947 – 30 March 1972) was a Turkish revolutionary and militant who was a leader in left-wing organisations such as People's Liberation Army of Turkey, and the Revolutionary Youth Federation of Turkey, a Marxist organisation.
In November 1971 he escaped the Maltepe Military Prison along with his comrades Mahir Çayan and Ulaş Bardakçı.
[2] In January 1972, he met with Mahir Çayan in Ankara in an attempt to help Hüseyin İnan, Deniz Gezmiş and Yusuf Aslan, who were on death row, to escape from prison.
They kidnapped British technicians from the NATO base in Ünye and brought them to Kızıldere in an attempt to trade them off for their comrades on death row.
This was refused by the government, which subsequently located them in Kızıldere with the coordination of the CIA.