Turkey charges US pastor as ‘spy’; conviction would mean life in prison

Andrew Brunson in a photo provided by his family.
Almost a year after arresting him, Turkey piled on new charges of “spying” and “insurgency” against American pastor Andrew Brunson on 24 August, demanding four consecutive life sentences in prison against the 23-year resident of Turkey. Jailed since his surprise detention without charges last October, Brunson was eventually accused of . . . Read More

Political stalemate holds US pastor ‘hostage’ in Turkish jail

Political stalemate holds US pastor ‘hostage’ in Turkish jail
Comments this week from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan increased speculation that Turkey has been holding jailed US pastor Andrew Brunson hostage since last October in order to extract political concessions from the United States. Addressing the parliamentary assembly of his ruling Justice and Development Party on 30 May, Erdoğan . . . Read More

Turkey unprepared for Trump’s counter-demand

Turkey unprepared for Trump’s counter-demand
Turkey was unprepared in mid-May when a new bilateral issue emerged with the United States during Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s meeting with his US counterpart Donald Trump in Washington DC, Al-Monitor reports. There were already two obvious agenda items between the two presidents: Turkey’s outspoken objection to Washington’s decision . . . Read More

Trump presses Turkish president to release jailed US pastor

Andrew Brunson in a photo provided by his family.
US President Donald Trump has raised the issue of a US pastor imprisoned in Turkey during his first face-to-face meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Washington DC, reports CNN. According to the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), both President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence spoke . . . Read More

Secretary of State Tillerson meets wife of US pastor jailed in Turkey

Norine Brunson stands below_Izmir's Harmandanli Detention Center,_where her husband had first been held
America’s top diplomat met for 20 minutes yesterday with the wife of US pastor Andrew Brunson, jailed in Turkey for nearly six months on undisclosed charges of involvement in a terrorist organization. US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was on a one-day stopover (March 30) in the Turkish capital Ankara, . . . Read More

Malatya murder trial defendants exploit Turkish government ‘witch-hunt’

Malatya murder trial defendants exploit Turkish government ‘witch-hunt’
Suspects accused of helping to orchestrate the brutal murders of three Christians in southeast Turkey in 2007 are now blaming the crime on the Hizmet movement, an influential Islamic group accused of treason by the ruling Turkish government. Testimony from two former military officers and an Islamic university researcher dominated . . . Read More