Corrected - U.S.-based cleric Gulen's network had free hand during AKP rule: deputy PM

Reuters
Members of the ultra-nationalist Turkish Youth Association (TGB) take part in a protest against academics close to U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen in front of Ankara University in Ankara, Turkey, July 21, 2016. The banner reads "Universities should be cleansed from Fethullah's terrorist organisation". REUTERS/Baz Ratner

(Corrects to show that more than 1,000 people from state institutions, not the military, are on the run) ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey's ruling AK Party gave a free hand for years to a religious movement led by U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen it now accuses of orchestrating a failed military coup, Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek said on Thursday. Gulen, an ally-turned-arch-enemy of President Tayyip Erdogan, denies any involvement in last Friday's abortive coup. He still has large numbers of supporters in Turkey, including in the judiciary, police and armed forces. "As soon as President Tayyip Erdogan saw the threat (posed by Gulen's supporters) he gave the necessary response. We had thought they were doing something good for the country," Simsek told reporters in unusually candid comments. Simsek also said more than 1,000 people in state institutions were still on the run nearly a week after the coup, without elaborating. (Reporting by Ece Toksabay; Writing by Humeyra Pamuk; Editing by Gareth Jones and David Dolan)