Fetullah Gülen, the chief suspect in Turkey's attempted coup had his appeal against the removal of his official passport denied Thursday, a judicial official said.

Gülen, the leader of the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) blamed for last year's foiled coup, used his official green Turkish passport to travel to the United States in 1999. He has not since returned to Turkey.

The official passport is issued to public officials and their immediate families and, unlike blue passports, it gives the holder visa-free travel to some European nations and makes it easier to obtain a visa for other countries such as the U.S.

As a former preacher, and therefore a civil servant, Gülen was entitled to the passport.

In 2015, the governor of Gülen's home province Erzurum canceled the passport over inaccurate information he provided in 1990. This was subsequently approved by the Council of State, Turkey's highest administrative court.

Although he did not challenge the decision immediately, he did so prior to the coup attempt through his lawyer Nurullah Albayrak, who is now also being sought by the authorities over his ties to FETÖ.

Albayrak appealed to the council, which was rejected yesterday, according to the official who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to the media. The case will now be passed back to an administrative court in Erzurum to be implemented.