Turkish police detained 93 former police officers in an İstanbul-based operation targeting people dismissed or suspended from duty after Turkey’s July 15, 2016 coup attempt.
The operation was carried out across 16 provinces.
Raids were conducted early in the morning as part of an investigation listing 137 former police officers who had been dismissed or suspended under emergency decree measures.
The detainees were taken to the Anti-Smuggling Crimes Branch Directorate on Vatan Avenue in İstanbul for processing.
Authorities accused the former officers of using ByLock, an encrypted messaging app that prosecutors treat as evidence of links to the Gülen movement.
Defense lawyers and rights advocates dispute the use of alleged ByLock records as criminal evidence, saying app-use claims are often relied on without showing message content, criminal conduct or direct involvement in the coup attempt.
The Gülen movement is a transnational civic initiative inspired by Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen.
Ankara designates the movement as a terrorist organization and blames it for the coup attempt. The movement denies involvement in the coup attempt or any terrorist activity.
The operation is part of the continuing post-coup crackdown on the police force, one of the public institutions most heavily affected by dismissals, suspensions and criminal investigations under the state of emergency.
