Turkey dismisses over 260 officials with new decree

Turkey dismissed 262 personnel from various institutions with a new statutory decree under a state of emergency.
The new statutory decree was published in the Official Gazette on Jan. 12.Under the decree, 48 personnel from the Turkish Armed Forces—including 44 soldiers—were expelled.

Among the dismissed, 18, including 16 soldiers, were from land, and 30 others, including 28 soldiers, were from naval forces.

The new decree also reinstated 1,823 people who had been dismissed from their jobs for allegedly using the ByLock app., an encrypted mobile phone application used by members of the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ) to communicate during and after the defeated coup attempt.

Among the reinstated, 81 personnel were from land, while 20 personnel were from naval forces and 22 others were from the air forces.

Reinstatements came after the Ankara Chief Prosecutor’s office said on Dec. 27, 2017 that 11,480 GSM number users were found to have been directed to the ByLock app “without their will.”

ByLock had been used by FETÖ members before and during last year’s defeated coup attempt.
FETÖ and its U.S.-based leader Fethullah Gülen are widely believed to have orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, which left 250 people killed and nearly 2,200 injured.

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