Mine Işıktaş, a former teacher who was sentenced to more than six years in prison over links to the faith-based Gülen movement based on her alleged use of the ByLock messaging application, was arrested to serve her sentence accompanied by her one-and-a-half-year-old daughter in northwestern Turkey, the Kronos news website reported on Sunday.
Işıktaş and her children were reportedly apprehended by Turkish authorities while attempting to flee to neighboring Greece to seek political asylum in Europe.
Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu, a prominent human rights advocate and an opposition lawmaker from the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), tweeted a photo of Işıktaş and her children at the Edirne Courthouse, expressing disapproval of the arrest. “Another baby and mother were sent to prison today,” he said.
ByLock, once widely available online, has been considered a secret tool of communication among supporters of the movement since a coup attempt on July 15, 2016, despite the lack of any evidence that ByLock messages were related to the abortive putsch.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been targeting followers of the Gülen movement, inspired by Muslim cleric Fethullah Gülen, since the corruption investigations of 2013, which implicated then-Prime Minister Erdoğan, his family members, and his inner circle.
Dismissing the investigations as a Gülenist coup and conspiracy against his government, Erdoğan designated the movement as a terrorist organization and began targeting its members. He intensified the crackdown on the movement following the abortive putsch in 2016, which he accused Gülen of masterminding. Gülen and the movement strongly deny involvement in the coup attempt or any terrorist activity.
Mustafa Işıktaş, her husband, said their elder daughter, Zeynep (7) requires continuous medical treatment due to the scoliosis affecting her organs.
“She was undergoing treatment in the company of her mom. I cannot always be with them since I need to work. I want my wife and younger daughter to be released,” he said.
Mustafa Işıktaş was also sentenced to over six years on similar grounds. However, the Supreme Court of Appeals overturned his conviction after he had served seven months.
In a landmark decision in September, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ruled that Turkey had violated three articles of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) in the case of former teacher Yüksel Yalçınkaya, who was convicted of terrorism in Turkey due to his use of ByLock.
Legal experts said the Grand Chamber’s decision made clear that the use of ByLock cannot be considered criminal evidence against Gülen movement members.
Since the coup attempt, a total of 705,172 people have been investigated on terrorism or coup-related charges due to their alleged links to the movement.
Between June 2023 and 2024, Turkish authorities have carried out a total of 5,543 police operations and arrested 1,595 people linked to the movement.
There are currently 13,251 people in prison who are in pre-trial detention or convicted of terrorism in Gülen-linked trials.
In addition to the thousands who were jailed, scores of other Gülen movement followers had to flee Turkey to avoid the government crackdown.
movement strongly deny involvement in the coup attempt or any terrorist activity.
Mustafa Işıktaş, her husband, said their elder daughter, Zeynep (7) requires continuous
medical treatment due to the scoliosis affecting her organs.
“She was undergoing treatment in the company of her mom. I cannot always be with
them since I need to work. I want my wife and younger daughter to be released,” he
said.
Mustafa Işıktaş was also sentenced to over six years on similar grounds. However, the
Supreme Court of Appeals overturned his conviction after he had served seven months.
In a landmark decision in September, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of
Human Rights (ECtHR) ruled that Turkey had violated three articles of the European
Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) in the case of former teacher Yüksel Yalçınkaya,
who was convicted of terrorism in Turkey due to his use of ByLock.
Legal experts said the Grand Chamber’s decision made clear that the use of ByLock
cannot be considered criminal evidence against Gülen movement members.
Since the coup attempt, a total of 705,172 people have been investigated on terrorism
or coup-related charges due to their alleged links to the movement.
Between June 2023 and 2024, Turkish authorities have carried out a total of
5,543 police operations and arrested 1,595 people linked to the movement.
There are currently 13,251 people in prison who are in pre-trial detention or convicted of
terrorism in Gülen-linked trials.
In addition to the thousands who were jailed, scores of other Gülen movement followers
had to flee Turkey to avoid the government crackdown.
