First batch of ByLock suspects released

By Baris Kilic and Zafer Fatih Beyaz

ANKARA (AA) - The first batch of people imprisoned on suspicion of using the encrypted ByLock mobile app linked to the group behind last year’s coup attempt were released Thursday.

Their release follows an announcement Wednesday that some alleged ByLock users had been unwittingly “directed” to the app.

Among the 28 freed from jail was Mustafa Yaman, the lawyer for the Felicity Party, who was sentenced to 7 years, 6 months over his purported use of ByLock.

Investigators have discovered that 11,480 smartphone users were directed to ByLock app without their knowledge, an official said on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to the media.

They have been removed from an updated list of ByLock users passed to prosecutors across Turkey and courts have been told to reexamine cases.

ByLock was widely used by supporters of the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) that orchestrated the July 15 coup attempt, which left 250 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.