Police detain chief adviser of CHP head in Gülen probe

A chief adviser for Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu was detained early on Dec. 6 as part of the ongoing investigation into the Gülen movement, which is accused of orchestrating the failed coup attempt of July 15.

Anti-smuggling police detained Associate Professor Fatih Gürsul in Ankara at his residence upon instructions from the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office. Police also conducted searches at Gürsul's residence.

Gürsul had reportedly used ByLock, an encrypted messaging application said to have been used by followers of the U.S.-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen, and he was on the red list. He was expected to be transferred to Istanbul for legal proceedings.

Gürsul had been suspended from Istanbul University, where he previously worked as a lecturer, as part of a state of emergency decree law issued after the attempted takeover.

He was an adviser to Kılıçdaroğlu in the science, technology and communication fields, state-run Anadolu Agency has reported.

Meanwhile, the party said in a statement that Gürsul had not actively served as an adviser to the CHP leader after he was suspended from his duty at the university.

Separately, a total of 14 academics at Istanbul's Yıldız Technical University were arrested on Dec. 6 as part of the July 15 coup attempt investigation.

Police had initially detained a total of 30 academics of the university as part of the probe targeting the academic structure of the Gülen movement. Four of them were later released. 

However, an Istanbul court ordered the arrest of 14 academics of the university on charges of "being a member of armed terror organization." The other 12 academics were released on probation.

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