US-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen on Thursday denounced an arrest warrant issued by Turkey's government that accuses him of plotting an attempted coup.

"It is well-documented that the Turkish court system is without judicial independence, so this warrant is yet another example of President (Tayyip) Erdogan's drive for authoritarianism and away from democracy," Gulen, who has denied any involvement in last month's failed coup, said in a statement.