Warrants issued for 144, including soldiers over alleged use of ByLock app

ISTANBUL

Istanbul Chief Prosecutor’s Office has issued detention warrants for a total of 144 people, including military personnel, prosecutors and police officers, for allegedly using ByLock, an encrypted messaging application said to have been used by members of the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ), state-run Anadolu Agency reported on May 23.

Twenty people were detained in simultaneous operations conducted on 175 addresses in 42 provinces around Turkey, the police reportedly said in a statement.

Some of the suspects are said to be among government-dubbed “secret imams” within the Turkish military, who were allegedly waiting for orders from U.S.-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen to overthrow the government during the failed July 15, 2016 coup. 

Ankara police reportedly also conducted operations across six provinces to detain 33 suspects employed at the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK), another 36 at the Capital Markets Board (SPK) and 55 former executives working at FETÖ-linked private schools that were closed with a state of emergency decree. 

Istanbul police have arrested 884 people in operations against military personnel who are believed to have secretly infiltrated the army. The new operations early on May 23 were launched based on the confessions of some of the 884.