Police detained 54 staff from a university shut down after last year's coup attempt carried out by the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ), Turkish media outlets reported Wednesday.
Police had arrest warrants for a total of 171 academics and staff from Istanbul's former Fatih University. The suspects were all users of the notorious ByLock app, an encrypted smartphone messaging app used by FETO members before and during last year's defeated coup attempt.
During the raids conducted in 29 provinces, police rounded up 54 of the 171 suspects, according to the source who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Twenty-six of the arrestees were women.
"Police are continuing the hunt for the remaining suspects," a police source said.
Fatih University was shut under a state decree following the July 15 coup attempt and most of its staff were identified as ByLock users.
FETÖ and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gülen are accused of having orchestrated the defeated coup, which killed 250 people and injured nearly 2,200 others.
Ankara also accuses FETÖ of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary.
