A government spokesman, Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdağ, has rejected allegations regarding the planned detention of main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) Chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, saying the claims were fabricated by the CHP in an effort to put the government in an unfair position.
In an interview with the TRT television station, Bozdağ contended that the allegations were deliberately fabricated and kept on the agenda by media outlets close to the CHP as a part of a "victimization" attempt.
The row regarding the possible arrest of the CHP leader stemmed from his possible involvement in an espionage case.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan last week said that Kılıçdaroğlu is trying to remain relevant by saying he could be arrested soon, which Erdoğan said is not on the agenda.
Erdoğan's remarks came after Kılıçdaroğlu said in an interview with Hürriyet Daily News on Monday that he could be arrested in the near future.
"I don't want to think of a scenario in which the head of Turkey's main opposition [party] is behind bars," Kılıçdaroğlu said on Aug. 21.
Hinting at his possible arrest, he added that he is ready for anything and that his possible arrest would not weaken the opposition, but would strengthen his position.
Bozdağ said that the debate emerged from inside the CHP and that Erdoğan's remarks regarding the National Intelligence Organization (MİT) case and CHP Deputy Enis Berberoğlu are not related to the issue of Kılıçdaroğlu's arrest in any way.
"In fact, how did this discussion arise? Instead of asserting that ‘they will arrest me,' and veering away from the main issue, Mr. Kılıçdaroğlu should instead clarify controversial points regarding himself that have been revealed in the MİT case. [AK Party Deputy] Mahir Ünal asked him some questions. Kılıçdaroğlu said during an interview with CNN on May 20, 2015, that he also saw footage of the [espionage case]. When and where did he see the footage? Who was with him while he was watching it? Who gave it to him? These are questions that Kılıçdaroğlu should answer," he said.
ByLock transcript of Kılıçdaroğlu's advisor's texts revealedA ByLock transcript of messages by Kemal Gürsul, a former adviser to Kılıçdaroğlu, has also been revealed. Gürsül has been on trial for charges of being a member of the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ).
In the investigation being conducted by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, new documents have been provided regarding suspects who were in contact with Gürsul.
A statement from the prosecutor's office says that identification number 2472 in the encrypted app belongs to Gürsul.
Intelligence agents broke the codes of the messaging app used for secure, encrypted communication by FETÖ members. A total of 215,092 suspected FETÖ members are claimed to have used the application, according to an indictment prepared by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office.
The indictment claims that the identities of 184,298 ByLock users have been revealed by intelligence agents. Prosecutors say ByLock was popular among FETÖ members between 2013 and 2015. After 2015, FETÖ turned to Eagle IM, which offers 256-bit end-to-end AES encryption, according to the description of the app on the Google
Play Store.