Turkish police detained 25 people in two separate operations in İstanbul on Friday as part of investigations into alleged links to the faith-based Gülen movement, including a civil servant.
In the first operation, police detained 19 people, including one public employee, following an investigation involving recruitment processes for court clerks, prison guards and courtroom attendants in previous years.
Police carried out simultaneous raids at several locations under the coordination of the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, taking all 19 people into custody and confiscating digital materials.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has targeted the faith-based Gülen movement, inspired by Muslim cleric Fethullah Gülen, who died in 2024, since corruption investigations in December 2013 implicated him as well as some members of his family and inner circle. He dismissed the probes as a Gülenist conspiracy and designated the movement as a terrorist organization in May 2016, intensifying a sweeping crackdown after a coup attempt in July of the same year that he accused Gülen of orchestrating. The movement denies involvement in the coup attempt or any terrorist activity.
The investigation also involved the alleged use of ByLock, an encrypted messaging application Turkish authorities regard as evidence of Gülen movement membership. The reports did not establish whether any of the 19 detainees were accused of using the application.
The use of ByLock as evidence in terrorism cases has been challenged at the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). In a landmark ruling in September 2023 the court found that Turkey had violated the rights of a former teacher convicted of terrorism based decisively on his use of the application.
The court found that treating ByLock use as sufficient proof of membership in a terrorist organization, without an individualized assessment of the elements of the offense, violated protections against arbitrary punishment and the right to a fair trial.
In a separate operation, police detained six people after raiding four properties in İstanbul as part of another investigation into alleged Gülen movement links.
Authorities said two of those detained had outstanding prison sentences following convictions and were wanted by the police.
Three other individuals were accused of helping the two find accommodation in İstanbul’s Üsküdar district, paying their rent and other living expenses and assisting with arrangements for them to leave Turkey through unauthorized routes.
The initial operation targeted five people, but a sixth person found at one of the locations was also detained.
Police reported seizing foreign currency worth approximately 3.17 million Turkish lira ($64,000) and digital materials during the searches.
According to the latest figures from the justice ministry, more than 127,000 people have been convicted for alleged links to the movement, and authorities had initiated legal proceedings against 720,338 people since 2016, with 10,485 still in prison. Investigations or trials involving another 83,404 are still ongoing.
In addition to the thousands who were jailed, scores of other Gülen movement followers had to flee Turkey to avoid the government crackdown.
