Turkey needs to take on those responsible for the failed coup last month, but this needs to be done in conformity with the rule of law and human rights, the head of human rights body the Council of Europe said on Wednesday.

Secretary-General Thorbjorn Jagland also said at a joint news conference with Turkey's foreign minister in Ankara that there had been little understanding in Europe on the extent to which a secret network had infiltrated the Turkish army and judiciary.

Jagland is the most senior European official to visit Turkey since the failed July 15 putsch, when a faction of the army commandeered tanks, helicopters and fighter jets in an attempt to overthrow the government.

Turkey blames followers of U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen for the putsch. Gulen, who has lived in self-imposed exile in the United States since 1999, denies the charges and has denounced the coup.