Five members of judiciary return to duties after withdrawal of ByLock allegations

Oya Armutçu - ANKARA

Five members of the judiciary accused of using the ByLock messaging app have been returned to their duties after a Supreme Council of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) examination determined that their internet passwords had been cracked by actual ByLock users.

ByLock, an encrypted messaging application that is said to have been used by members of the Gülen Movement under U.S.-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen, who is accused of orchestrating the failed coup attempt of July 15, 2016, has been cited as prime evidence of links to Gülen and the coup plot.

The HSYK examined demands for redress from four judges and three prosecutors who were suspended from their duties on March 29 over their alleged links to Gülen. The HSYK overturned the decision to suspend five members, while rejecting the demands of two of them.

One of the suspended prosecutors, Oğuzhan Sarıhan, shared his ADSL modem password with some friends who were working with him, according to the decision. Authorities determined that fellow judge Hüseyin Şen had used his smart phone, which was loaded with the ByLock application, via the modem but that there was no solid evidence that Sarıhan had ever downloaded the app.

Moreover, the decision stated that the modem password of another suspended judicial member, Atilla Han, was cracked by a doctor who was living in the same apartment building. The suspect used Han’s internet connection with a device that featured ByLock, according to authorities.