Berkan Sönmezay, district governor of Söğüt in Bilecik province, was detained on Thursday over his alleged use of ByLock, a smart phone application that Turkish authorities believe was widely used as a communication tool among followers of the Gülen movement, which is accused of being behind a failed coup last year.
According to Hürriyet, counterterror teams fromt the Bilecik Police Department detained Sönmezay in Söğüt and searched his office and residence.
Sönmezay, who has been the Söğüt district governor since July 30, 2015, was taken to Bilecik for interrogation.
Tens of thousands of civil servants, police officers and businessmen have either been dismissed or arrested for using ByLock since the failed coup attempt.
Turkey’s Justice Ministry announced on July 13 that 50,510 people have been arrested and 169,013 have been the subject of legal proceedings on coup charges since the failed coup.
