Turkish authorities issued detention warrants on Wednesday for 79 people who used to work for private schools and private training centers that were shuttered by the government over alleged links to the Gülen movement, detaining 30 of them.
According to the Cumhuriyet daily, the Ankara Public Prosecutor’s Office issued the detention warrants as part of an investigation into the movement, which is accused of orchestrating a coup attempt last year. The movement strongly denies any involvement in the coup attempt.
The 79 suspects are accused of having used ByLock, a smart phone app that Turkish authorities claim was used as a communication tool among the followers of the movement.
Tens of thousands of civil servants, police officers and businessmen have either been dismissed or arrested for using ByLock since the failed coup attempt on July 15, 2016.