FETÖ's communication experts detained in new raids

At least 52 people were arrested Tuesday as part of a probe into the information technology network of the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ).

The arrested suspects include former employees of the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK), the Presidency of Telecommunication and Communication (TİB), and Sürat Information Technology Co.

They are among 105 people who were issued arrest warrants by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office

Recent investigations revealed that TÜBİTAK and TİB, which are respectively leading scientific research and telecommunication authorities run by the state, were widely infiltrated by FETÖ members.

The suspects are accused of using the ByLock messaging app, which, according to security sources, was used solely by members of the group to carry out the coup bid. They are also accused of attempting to provide technical support for the coup bid blamed on infiltrators of FETÖ in the army.

Operations to arrest the remaining 53 suspects are ongoing. In October, a former TÜBİTAK employee who was allegedly among developers of Bylock, was arrested for his links to the terrorist group.

One month after the coup attempt, Turkey shut down TİB and transferred its responsibilities and staff to the Information and Communication Technologies Authority.

TİB was supposed to be an independent regulatory body, but according to Turkish officials, the institution had become "a nest for moles" at the hands of FETÖ members, an observation which President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had also voiced repeatedly in the previous years.

Ankara's Chief Public Prosecutor's Office said that arrest warrants were issued to 40 people, including former academics and other staff members after a probe into the staff of Turgut Özal University, which was shut down in the aftermath of the coup attempt for its alleged links to FETÖ.

The former employees are accused of using the ByLock smartphone app, which is believed to have been cracked by Turkish security agencies months before the coup, allowing them to identify tens of thousands of suspected FETÖ supporters.