15,000 ByLock users detected in Ankara: official

By Zafer Fatih Beyaz and Baris Kilic

ANKARA

Almost 15,000 users of ByLock, a smartphone messaging app linked to FETO, the group behind last year's defeated coup, have been detected in the Turkish capital, according to the province’s chief public prosecutor.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Yuksel Kocaman said most of these users have been interrogated or face legal action.

“However”, Kocaman said, “due to the workload of the security and judicial departments, it has not been possible to launch a legal process for all the detected users.”

According to Turkish authorities, Bylock was a suspected means of communication among members of the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), which orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016 that left 250 people martyred and some 2,200 others injured.

Turkey also accuses FETO of a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary.

Reporting by Zafer Fatih Beyaz and Baris Kilic; Wriying by Sibel Ugurlu