The İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office issued detention warrants on Tuesday for 38 people as part of an investigation into the faith-based Gülen movement, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported.
According to the report 33 people, including police chiefs, teachers, dentists and tax inspectors auditors, were detained by police on allegations of using a smart phone application called ByLock, which is, according to Turkish authorities, a communication tool among the followers of the movement.
The Turkish government accuses the movement of orchestrating a coup attempt on July 15, 2016, although the movement denies any involvement.
Also on Monday, local police forces detained seven people, including six noncommissioned military officers during raids in Malatya, Ankara, İstanbul, İzmir, Balıkesir, Erzurum, Sivas, Eskişehir and Bolu provinces.
Meanwhile, former police chief Atilla Eser was detained by police on Tuesday at a shopping mall in the Keçiören district of Ankara over alleged Gülen links.
Eser, who was dismissed by a government decree during a two-year-long state of emergency after the coup attempt, was allegedly using ByLock along with his wife, Ayşe Eser.
A total of 17,085 people had been detained over alleged links to the movement as of the end of July 2018.
According to the Justice Ministry more than 400,000 people have been investigated on suspicion of membership in the Gülen movement.
(Stockholm Center For Freedom [SCF])