A new detail has emerged regarding ByLock, the encrypted messaging app that came to Turkey's agenda with the failed coup attempt on July 15, 2016. The ID system in the communication network used by FETÖ members for the coup attempt and other plans has been deciphered.
It was determined that organization members were listed in the app not by their names but by numbers assigned to them. The ID numbers, starting from 1, indicate the members' importance and seniority within the organization. Investigations revealed that the total number of IDs exceeded 215,000.
Examination of the ByLock IDs showed that the app was initially used among confidants, the organization's top echelons, and key figures, and later spread to the grassroots. Those in the first 1,000 are considered FETÖ's most valuable members.
Key figures in the first 100
The notable names among the first 100 IDs are as follows:
- ID 27: Erol Demirhan – Detained former police chief on trial in the MIT conspiracy case.
- ID 28: Oğuz Kiremitçi – Former Deputy Chief of Ankara Police.
- ID 40: Serkan Şahan – Defendant in the assassination of Armenian journalist Hrant Dink.
- ID 43: Cengiz Özkan – The person to whom Cemal Karaata, the planner of the Russian Ambassador Karlov assassination, was linked.
- ID 49: Mehmet Yaşa – FETÖ's US imam.
Meanwhile, journalist Cevheri Güven was also listed among ByLock users with ID number 3320.