Turkish court keeps US pastor behind bars
Turkey’s decision to postpone US pastor Andrew Brunson’s hearing until July may be driven by electoral calculations and attempts at so-called hostage diplomacy.
Ignoring pleas from President Donald Trump and other top US officials, a Turkish court Monday declined to free Andrew Brunson, an American pastor who was detained in October 2016 on espionage and terror charges. This occurred during a hearing in which a secret witness claimed the pastor was trying to set up a “Christian Kurdish state” carved out of Turkey. It also was claimed that coordinates for weapons dropped by American forces to Kurdish militants in Syria were “provided by Christian missionaries.” Prosecutors refused to allow witnesses for the defense to testify and the trial was adjourned until July 18.
The decision drew a flurry of rebukes from US senators and members of Brunson’s church who had hoped the North Carolina evangelist would be placed under house arrest, if not released entirely and allowed to return home. Republican Sen. James Lankford, who has been spearheading legislation to punish Turkey over its increasingly roguish behavior, called Brunson’s trial a "sham" that was "filled with secret witnesses and conspiracy theories.” The Oklahoma senator added in a Monday tweet, “Congress stands ready to take action, including sanctions, if Brunson is not released.”
Both the House and the Senate are mulling a freeze on weapons sales to Turkey over the Brunson issue and over the continued detention of other US citizens and local employees at US diplomatic missions in Istanbul and the southern city of Adana. There are also parallel efforts to deny visas to Turkish officials deemed responsible for what US officials call the unlawful incarceration of the Americans and the local employees. Until recently the State Department had pushed back against any sanctions, citing Turkey’s critical importance as a NATO ally and the need to allow diplomacy time to bring Ankara around.
Jeff Jeremiah, the state clerk of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church to which Brunson belongs, expressed disbelief at Monday’s proceedings. “As an American, the presenting of this type of ‘evidence’ in a courtroom by secret witnesses is alien. … As long as this trial continues, the standing of Turkey in the community of nations only suffers,” Jeremiah told Al-Monitor. “I am hopeful that with the arrival of the new secretary of state [Mike Pompeo] that a more assertive policy toward Turkey will be pursued.”
