30 police detained over coup-linked messaging app

By Sertac Bulur

ANKARA (AA) - At least 30 police officers were detained Wednesday in several provinces for using a smartphone messaging app linked to the July 15 coup attempt, according to security sources.

The suspects were detained by Ankara’s Anti-Smuggling and Organized Crime Department teams in an Ankara-based operation, carried out in 13 provinces, the source said on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

The operation is targeting a total of 215 police officers, including 147 high-ranking officers.

The authorities are continuing to look for the remaining suspects.

The ByLock app is said to have been used by members of the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), which the government accuses of being behind the defeated coup.

The app is believed to have been cracked by Turkish security agencies before the coup, prompting the plotters to switch to using the WhatsApp messaging service but not before tens of thousands of FETO suspects had been identified.

Turkey accuses FETO, which is led by U.S.-based Fetullah Gulen, of organizing the defeated coup as well as a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary.

The July 15 coup attempt left 241 people martyred and some 2,200 injured.