ANKARA, July 16 (Xinhua) -- The Turkish authorities launched an investigation into the Gulen movement's allegedly covert network within the country's Foreign Ministry and issued arrest warrants for eight suspects, the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office said Wednesday.
According to a statement from the prosecutor's office, three of the suspects were currently serving in the Foreign Ministry.
The suspects are accused of using the encrypted communication app ByLock, a tool previously linked to the Gulen network, and of being repeatedly contacted via payphones and landlines, a pattern the Turkish authorities say indicates coordination with the group.
Five of the suspects had already been dismissed from the ministry due to alleged ties to the group, while the remaining three are still employed, the statement said.
Operations to apprehend the suspects are ongoing in the capital, Ankara, and three other provinces, with counter-terrorism units leading the effort, it added.
The Turkish government classifies the Gulen movement as a terrorist organization and holds it responsible for a coup attempt in July 2016, in which more than 250 people were killed. The movement was led by Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen, who lived in the United States from 1999 until he died in 2024.
Following the failed coup, the Turkish authorities have arrested thousands of suspects accused of links to the movement. ■
