Mr Fethullah Gulen, the US-based cleric accused by Ankara of orchestrating the coup attempt in Turkey, has a wide following in his native country, where he enjoys support among the police and judiciary.

The reclusive Islamic preacher, who lives in a tiny town in the Pocono Mountains of the US state of Pennsylvania, was immediately accused by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of being behind the coup attempt.

Mr Gulen, however, denied any role, and condemned the coup attempt “in the strongest terms.”

“As someone who suffered under multiple military coups during the past five decades, it is especially insulting to be accused of having any link to such an attempt. I categorically deny such accusations,” Mr Gulen said in a statement late Friday.

“I condemn, in the strongest terms, the attempted military coup in Turkey,” read the two-paragraph statement.

“Government should be won through a process of free and fair elections, not force.”

“I pray to God for Turkey, for Turkish citizens, and for all those currently in Turkey that this situation is resolved peacefully and quickly,” he said. Mr Gulen, 75, was once a close ally of President Tayyip Erdogan but the two fell out in recent years as Mr Erdogan became suspicious of Mr Gulen’s movement, Hizmet, and its powerful presence in Turkish society, including the media, police and judiciary. The preacher moved to the US in 1999, before he was charged with treason in his native country.

The power struggle between the two foes came to a head in late 2013 after judicial officials thought to be close to Mr Gulen brought corruption charges that directly implicated some of Erdogan’s inner circle, including his son Bilal.