Müçteba Enes Ünal, the son of journalist Mustafa Ünal, who was among the dozens of journalists jailed in the aftermath of a failed coup in 2016, has been detained in the Turkish capital of Ankara over his alleged links to the Gülen movement.
Ünal announced his detention from his Twitter account on Tuesday morning, saying: “I am being detained. Expect your prayers.”
Müçteba Enes Ünal is accused of using ByLock, a smart phone application that Turkish authorities believe was the top communication tool among followers of the Gülen movement.
The Turkish government accuses the Gülen movement of masterminding the failed coup on July 15, 2016 and labels it a “terrorist organization,” although the movement strongly denies involvement in the coup attempt or any terrorist activity.
Mustafa Ünal was the former Ankara bureau chief for the now-closed Zaman daily. He was handed down a jail sentence of 10 years, six months by an İstanbul high criminal court in July 2018 on charges of membership in a terrorist organization.
The Zaman daily, which was Turkey’s best-selling newspaper, was closed down along with dozens of other media outlets due to their links to the Gülen movement in the aftermath of the coup attempt.