The Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) installed the ByLock messaging app on 11,480 smartphones without user permission to mask the real users, the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office announced Wednesday.
A statement said that the investigation found that 11,480 GSM numbers have been directed to ByLock IPs involuntarily.
There have been findings showing that these users were deliberately directed to bylock.net through apps developed by the organization's software developers to make it harder to detect real ByLock users and muddle the fight against FETÖ, it added.
The statement said that the use of ByLock, an encrypted messaging app used by FETÖ members for internal communication, is important evidence to determine membership in the terrorist group.
"This feature of the app and its value as evidence have also been confirmed by the Supreme Court of Appeals' legal precedents and it has been put forth that it can be used as the sole basis [to prove] membership in the organization in the case of people's involvement in this network has been detected with technical data that leads to certain conviction," it said.
Prosecutors say ByLock was popular among Gülenists for secret communications between 2013 and 2015, and after 2015, the terrorist group turned to Eagle IM, which offers "256-bit end-to-end AES encryption."
The prosecutor's office said an investigation is underway into suspects who deliberately directed unsuspecting victims to ByLock between August and Sept. 14.
Speaking to reporters, Ankara Chief Prosecutor Yüksel Kocaman said the plot to associate users with ByLock was carried out using a software called "Mor Beyin" (Purple Brain) and it was developed by Kemalettin Cengiz Erbakırcı. Kocaman said Erbakırcı was a former employee of the state-run Scientific and Technological Research Council (TÜBİTAK), adding that he was wanted for FETÖ links and had apparently fled the country four days after the 2016 coup attempt. The chief prosecutor said his office would request the courts to release 1,000 people wrongly associated with ByLock due to FETÖ's conspiracy "if there is no other evidence linking them to FETÖ."
FETÖ is blamed for three coup attempts since 2013, including one by its infiltrators in the military last year that killed 249 people. It was only after the coup attempt that the public became aware of ByLock investigations, and since then, tens of thousands have been detained or arrested for links to the terrorist group, sometimes with the only piece of evidence being ByLock on their phones and corresponding with other members of the group via the app. In some FETÖ cases, it was discovered that users were unwittingly linked to ByLock when they downloaded music apps and apps on religious knowledge. The terrorist group is known for disguising itself for decades as a religious charity before moving to seize power.
Ali Aktaş, a lawyer known for his work on ByLock users, had appealed authorities to separate victims from FETÖ suspects. Aktaş said in an interview with the Doğan News Agency last week that several apps developed by FETÖ members had built-in ads directing them to ByLock and their phone logs automatically added them to the list of suspected ByLock users. Aktaş also said that they presented an assessment report on the issue to authorities. Adding that some courts already released those ByLock victims, Aktaş said it was a plot by the group's members to "create chaos in the trials of the group's members," and that FETÖ members sought to vindicate themselves by claiming they are victims, too.
Authorities still sift through millions of messages relayed via the app to determine the suspects with authentic links to FETÖ. Some deciphered messages include instructions to group members from Fetullah Gülen, the U.S.-based leader of the group. Although Gülen did not personally write messages, he sent them through his point men over ByLock, the investigations show.
In related news, police yesterday arrested 54 suspects, mostly staff of the now-defunct Fatih University, one of the institutions linked to FETÖ in Turkey, for ties to the group. Arrest warrants were issued for 171 people and operations were underway to capture the remainder when Daily Sabah went to print. All suspects are users of the ByLock app.
Separately, trials of those involved in the coup attempt are still underway across the country. In Istanbul, the first hearing of suspects who hijacked a military helicopter and fled to Greece when the coup attempt was quelled was held. Eight of the suspects are among the 19 defendants on trial. Other defendants are accused of using four helicopters in coup attempt, including one used in dispatching putschist troops to a Mediterranean town to assassinate President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Ankara has repeatedly asked Greece to extradite suspects who face life sentences, but Greek courts have rejected the requests.