Seventy-nine detention warrants were issued for people across Turkey on Tuesday people over links to the faith-based Gülen movement, local media reported.
In Muğla province 17 suspects are being sought, 15 of whom are active duty military officers.
Turkey has been pursuing a relentless purge of real and alleged supporters of the Gülen movement as it considers the group responsible for a failed coup in July 2016. Consequently, the movement is designated as a terrorist organization by the regime.
The 17 suspects in this new investigation are alleged to have used public phones to secretly communicate to avoid wiretapping of their cell phones. Using a public pay phone is considered evidence of “terrorist links” by the government.
Detention warrants for 11 people were issued in İzmir for alleged use of the ByLock smartphone app, which is also considered a secret tool of communication among Gülen movement supporters. A lawyer from Aydın province is among the suspects in this investigation.
In Kocaeli province police initiated an operation to find 20 former and serving military personnel, 10 of whom are on active duty. Since July 2016, over half a million people have been the subjects of an investigation over links to the Gülen movement on coup and terrorism allegations.
In another investigation into the education network of the Gülen movement, a prosecutor in İstanbul issued detention warrants for 31 people for alleged use of ByLock.