Detention issued for 33 ex-employees of Turkey's top scientific body over Gülen links

The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office on Aug. 15 issued detention warrants for 33 former employees of the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK) as part of its probe into the Fetullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ).

"Detention warrants have been issued in six provinces, including Ankara, for 33 former TÜBİTAK employees (all of whom were previously dismissed). As of this morning, detentions have started," the prosecutor's office stated on Aug. 15. 

The suspects are accused of using the smartphone application ByLock, used almost exclusively by followers of the U.S.-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen

The application was been cracked by Turkish security agencies months before the coup attempt, prompting the plotters to switch to the WhatsApp messaging service but not before tens of thousands of FETÖ suspects were identified.        

FETÖ, under Gülen's orders, is widely believed to have orchestrated last year's failed coup attempt which left 249 people killed and nearly 2,200 injured.

Ankara says FETÖ is behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, the police, and the judiciary.