US Evangelical Pastor accused of terrorist ties goes on trial in Turkey - Politics Forum.org | PoFo

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Guardian wrote:A court in Turkey has ruled to keep an American pastor in custody, saying that he was a potential flight risk as he went on trial in a case that has compounded strains in US-Turkish relations.

Andrew Brunson, a Christian pastor from North Carolina who has lived in Turkey for more than two decades, was indicted on charges of helping a group accused of orchestrating the failed 2016 coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. He faces up to 35 years in prison.

“I’ve never done something against Turkey. I love Turkey. I’ve been praying for Turkey for 25 years. I want truth to come out,” Brunson told the court in the western Turkish town of Aliaga on Monday.

Brunson has been the pastor of Izmir Resurrection church, serving a small Protestant congregation in Turkey’s third-largest city.

“I do not accept the charges mentioned in the indictment. I was never involved in any illegal activities,” said Brunson, wearing a white shirt and black suit and making his defence in Turkish. His wife was in the courtroom, as were the North Carolina senator Thom Tillis and the US envoy for religious freedom, Sam Brownback.

But the judge ruled that Brunson had to stay in jail, pending another hearing on 7 May.

Brunson’s trial is one of several legal cases straining US-Turkish relations. The two countries are also at odds over US support for a Kurdish militia in northern Syria that Turkey considers a terrorist organisation.

Washington has called for Brunson’s release while Erdoğan suggested last year his fate could be linked to that of the US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gülen, whose extradition Ankara has repeatedly sought to face charges over the coup attempt.

Gülen denies any association with the failed coup. Tens of thousands of Turks have been arrested or lost their jobs over alleged connections with the effort.

“The United States cares deeply about our relationship with Turkey,” Brownback told reporters during a recess at the trial. “That relationship is going to have difficulty moving forward as long as Andrew Brunson is incarcerated.“

Brunson’s lawyer said the pastor, detained 18 months ago, was in custody because of his religious beliefs. Turkey is a majority-Muslim country though constitutionally secular.

“There is evidence that shows Brunson was arrested due to his faith,” Ismail Cem Halavurt told Reuters on the eve of the trial, saying Brunson’s religious role had been “classified as aiding terror organisations”.

The Izmir prosecutor’s office said that sufficient evidence had been obtained to charge Brunson with aiding armed terrorist organisations and obtaining confidential government information for political and military espionage.

A copy of Brunson’s indictment seen by Reuters accuses him of working both with Gülen’s network and the Kurdistan Workers party (PKK) militant group, which has waged an insurgency in mainly Kurdish south-east Turkey and is designated a terrorist group by the United States and the European Union.

The Guardian


Turkey wants the US to hand over Gulen before they hand over the US pastor, operating on the premise of an exchange of prisoners of war which is a first for NATO countries. One would expect that holding American citizens as hostages and trying to exchange them as POW's would be more into the US's national interests. And what is worse is that Turkey is the one doing the arresting, Gulen has not been arrested in the US, he is there out of his own free-will.
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Wess Mitchell, Assistant Foreign Secretary said the charges against Andrew Brunson, 50, of North Carolina, were "laughable."

"The Turks claim to have a high standard of justice, the indictment suggests otherwise," Mitchell told the House Foreign Affairs Committee. "This is clearly an innocent man. We are watching to see if the Turks adhere to their stated standards of justice. If that does not happen, we are considering options for consequences."

He said the State Department is consulting with Congress about "possible measures" to take against Turkey if Brunson is not released, but he did not elaborate.

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