59 Gülen-linked police remanded due to ByLock usage

Fifty-nine police were remanded under the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) probe on Saturday due to their use of the encrypted communication application Bylock, judicial sources told Anadolu Agency. Among the suspects are five police chiefs, three chief police officers and 37 chief inspectors and deputies, said the sources, speaking on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to media. FETÖ members use Bylock on their smartphones to share information and communicate with each other.

The Istanbul Court of Peace ordered that the 59 be remanded for membership in a terrorist organization, putting the total number of police officers remanded in the ByLock probe at 99.

Testimony from Gülenists in the bureaucracy detained after the July 15 putsch attempt pointed to the prevalence of the use of apps. Prosecutors say Bylock was popular among Gülenists for secretive communications between 2013 and 2015, and after 2015, the terror cult turned to Eagle IM, which offers "256-bit end-to-end AES encryption" for its users, according to the description of the app in the Google Play Store.

Five FETÖ judges and prosecutors arrested in ByLock probe

Five prosecutors and judges were arrested for using the Gülenist Terror Group's (FETÖ) encrypted messaging app By Lock in central Konya province.

Nihan Zengin, Nurullah Moral ve Ramazan Tekkoyun, Özkan Kılıç and Hidayet Nacak were arrested following the investigation.

Another prosecutor, Fatih Sarıtaş, was released but a travel ban was imposed lest he may flee the country.