Turkey Pushes Back Against Freeing US Pastor Brunson: 5 Things to Know
3. Who Is Pastor Brunson?
Pastor Brunson led a small Protestant church in Izmir for over 23 years in Turkey before his arrest in October 2016.
After a year of being kept in prison without any formal charges, he was finally accused of forming connections with Kurdish militants, whom the government blames for the failed July 2016 coup against Erdogan.
Brunson has insisted that he is innocent of all charges and, along with numerous watchdog groups such as the American Center for Law and Justice, has said that he is being imprisoned for his Christian faith and held as a potential bargaining chip for Erdogan.
Earlier in July, a Turkish court told Brunson after his third hearing that he must remain in prison until yet another hearing in October, but last week he was allowed to transfer over to house arrest in Izmir.
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom praised the development but said that it is not enough.
"The Turkish government has deprived this innocent man of his due process rights and liberty for too long, and it must completely release him," USCIRF Vice Chair Kristina Arriaga said in a statement.
"If it fails to do so, the Trump administration and the Congress should respond strongly and swiftly with targeted sanctions against the authorities responsible."
