At least 25 individuals, including high-ranking military officers, were detained as part of two separate investigations into the Gülen movement, which the government accuses of being behind a July 15 coup attempt.
According to the state-run Anadolu news agency, detention warrants were issued for 12 people in a Manisa-based probe and 13 others in a in an investigation originating in Karabük.
The detainees included university students, small business owners, corporate executives and high-ranking military officers.The officers were identified as Ş.Ö., M.Ç., Ş.Ö., K.O., A.Ç., O.E., A.C., R.V., C.S., E.D., H.K., R.İ. and M.Ç.
They are accused of having used ByLock, a smartphone app that Turkish prosecutors claim to be a top communication tool among Gülen movement supporters.
Turkey experienced a military coup attempt on July 15 that killed over 240 people and wounded more than a thousand others. Immediately after the putsch, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government along with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan pinned the blame on the movement.
The movement denies any involvement.In the currently ongoing post-coup purge, over 135,000 people, including thousands within the military, have been purged due to their real or alleged connection to the Gülen movement, according to a statement by the labor minister on Jan. 10.
According to a statement from Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu on April 2, a total of 113,260 people have been detained as part of investigations into the Gülen movement since the July 15 coup attempt while 47,155 were put into pre-trial detention. (Turkey Purge)