Police apprehend 95 military personnel over links to coup attempt

ISTANBUL

AFP photo

Police on Jan. 19 apprehended 95 personnel of the Turkish Armed Forces who were among suspects issued with arrest warrants as a part of the investigation into to the failed July 2016 coup attempt, Doğan News Agency has reported.

The suspects were detained on suspicion of using ByLock, an encrypted messaging application said to have been used by members of the movement loyal to the U.S.-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen, accused of orchestrating the attempted takeover.

Their apprehension comes one day after the Istanbul 9th criminal court of peace issued an arrest warrant for a total of 243 military personnel in 54 provinces across Turkey over their alleged links to the failed coup attempt.

Among the detained military personnel were eight colonels, three lieutenant colonels, 11 majors and 11 captains.

In an earlier decision, the public prosecutor’s office had issued arrest warrants for 575 soldiers in the land, air and naval forces, including 295 officers and 280 non-commissioned officers.

Police had later apprehended 351 of the suspects in an Istanbul-based operation conducted in 58 provinces, with 315 of them later arrested.

The other 36 suspects, meanwhile, were freed under the effective repentance law.