Turkey moves American pastor to house arrest from prison

ISTANBUL: Turkey on Wednesday moved from jail to house arrest an American pastor who has spent almost two years imprisoned on terror-related charges, in a controversial case that has ratcheted up tensions with the United States.

Andrew Brunson, who ran a protestant church in the Aegean city of Izmir, was first detained in October 2016 and had remained in prison in Turkey ever since.

Brunson’s lawyer Cem Halavurt confirmed Turkish state media reports that his client was being put under house arrest, telling AFP he would be moved from prison later Wednesday.

Live pictures broadcast by the NTV channel in the late afternoon showed Brunson being put into a vehicle outside prison and then driven away guided by a police motorbike escort.

The house arrest ruling was issued by a criminal court in the Izmir region where Brunson was being held. He has also been banned from leaving the country.

Brunson’s detention had become a symbol of the problematic relationship between Nato allies Turkey and the US, and news of his release into house arrest boosted the Turkish lira, which gained almost one percent in value against the dollar.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday welcomed the decision to move Brunson to house arrest, but said it was “not enough”.

Pompeo said “no credible evidence” had been presented against the pastor and called on Ankara to resolve the case in a “fair” way.

Brunson still faces up to 35 years in jail if convicted on charges of carrying out activities on behalf of two groups Turkey deems terror organisations – one led by the USbased Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen who Ankara says was behind a 2016 failed coup, the other the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

His next hearing is due to be on Oct 12.

The pastor denies the charges and his defence team argues the case is built on questionable witness statements that should never have been brought to court.

According to state news agency Anadolu, the ruling came after Brunson’s lawyer challenged the decision to keep him in prison on “health grounds”.

But Halavurt said that this was not true and that there is nothing official or paperwork to prove that Brunson has health problems.

Brunson is one of tens of thousands of people detained on similar charges during the state of emergency declared by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the wake of the 2016 failed coup bid.

The measure ended on July 18. But the Turkish parliament on Wednesday passed a new “antiterror” law that strengthens the authorities’ powers in detaining suspects and imposing public order.

The new law, strongly criticised by activists as essentially replacing the state of emergency, allows authorities to control who can enter and exit an area for 15 days for reasons of security.

Suspects can be held without charge for 48 hours or up to four days if there are multiple offences. This period can be extended on two occasions under special circumstances. — AFP