A Turkish teacher in Mongolia who was the victim of a suspected kidnapping attempt has asked a United Nations agency to arrange asylum, his lawyer says, France24 reported.

Veysel Akcay was seized last month from outside his home and bundled onto a small passenger jet, which Mongolian authorities grounded for eight hours until he was freed.

The 50-year-old is associated with US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen, whom Ankara accuses of orchestrating a botched 2016 coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

In a letter written by his lawyer and seen by AFP Tuesday, Akcay calls on the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to intervene and let him leave Mongolia so he may seek asylum.

"Initial encouraging steps by the government of Mongolia have been subsequently followed by actions, which have clearly exposed Mr Akcay to the imminent risk of illegal transfer to Turkey," the lawyer wrote, adding that Akcay had twice in the past week been stopped from leaving the country.