Release may ease tensions

An American Christian pastor flew out of Turkey yesterday after a Turkish court convicted him of terror links but freed him from house arrest, removing a major irritant in fraught ties between two Nato allies still strained by disagreements over Syria, Iran and a host of other issues.

The court near the western city of Izmir sentenced North Carolina native Andrew Brunson to just over three years in prison for allegedly helping terror groups, but let him go because the 50-year-old evangelical pastor had already spent nearly two years in detention. An earlier charge of espionage was dropped.

Hours later, Brunson was transported to Izmir’s airport and flown out of Turkey, where he had lived for more than two decades. He was to be flown to the United States military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany, then on to Washington, DC, where he was to meet US President Donald Trump.

‘‘I love Jesus. I love Turkey,’’ an emotional Brunson, who had maintained he was innocent of all charges, told the court during yesterday’s hearing. He tearfully hugged his wife, Norine Lyn, as he awaited the court decision.

‘‘PASTOR BRUNSON JUST RELEASED. WILL BE HOME SOON!’’ Trump tweeted after the American was driven out of a Turkish prison in a convoy.

Later, after Brunson was airborne, Trump told reporters the pastor had ‘‘suffered greatly’’ but was in ‘‘very good shape,’’ and that he would meet him at the Oval Office today.

Trump predicted at a campaign rally in Ohio that Brunson was ‘‘going to be in great shape’’.

Brunson’s release was a diplomatic triumph for Trump, who is counting on the support of evangelical Christians for Republican candidates ahead of congressional elections in November.

It could also benefit Turkey, allowing the government to focus on an escalating diplomatic crisis over Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi contributor to the Washington Post who went missing more than a week ago and is feared dead after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

Additionally, Turkey could now hope that the US will lift tariffs on Turkish steel and aluminum imports, injecting some confidence into an economy rattled by high inflation and a mountain of foreign currency debt.

Yesterday’s ruling followed witness testimony that seemed to partly undermine the prosecutor’s allegations and highlighted concerns that Turkey had been using the US citizen as diplomatic leverage.

Turkey bristled at suggestions that its judicial system is a foreign policy instrument, and has accused the US of trying to bend Turkish courts to its will with tariffs in August that helped to send the Turkish currency into freefall.

Brunson’s release doesn’t resolve disagreements over US support for Kurdish fighters in Syria, as well as a plan by Turkey to buy Russian missiles. Turkey is also frustrated by the refusal of the US to extradite Fethullah Gulen, a Pennsylvaniabased Muslim cleric accused by Turkey of engineering a 2016 coup attempt.

The court dropped an espionage charge against Brunson, who had faced up to 35 years in jail if convicted of all the charges against him.

He was among tens of thousands of people, mostly Turks, who were caught up in a government crackdown after the failed coup. He was accused of committing crimes on behalf of Gulen as well as Kurdish militants who have been fighting the Turkish state for decades.

Earlier, the court called two witnesses following tips from witness Levent Kalkan, who at a previous hearing had accused Brunson of aiding terror groups. The new witnesses did not confirm Kalkan’s accusations. Another witness for the prosecution said she did not know Brunson.

Brunson again denied accusations that his church aided Kurdish militants, saying he had handed over a list of Syrian refugees whom his congregation had helped, and adding that Turkish authorities would have identified any terrorists.

‘‘We helped everyone, Kurds, Arabs, without showing he said.

Brunson, who is originally from Black Mountain, North Carolina, was imprisoned for nearly two years after being detained in October 2016.

He was formally arrested in December that year, and placed under house arrest on July 25 for health reasons.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had resisted US demands for Brunson’s release, insisting that Turkey’s courts are independent. But he had previously suggested a possible swap involving Brunson and Gulen, who has denied organising the coup attempt.

Other witnesses had any not discrimination,’’ yet testified in Brunson’s case and the evidence was still not complete, suggesting a rushed effort to resolve the matter.

Brunson led a small congregation in the Izmir Resurrection Church. The US Commission on International Religious Freedom, with top representative Tony Perkins monitoring the trial, had listed him as a ‘‘prisoner of conscience’’.

While supporters in the US celebrated Brunson’s release, his case has overshadowed the predicament of a Turkish-American scientist from Nasa and several Turkish workers for the US diplomatic mission who were also arrested in Turkey.

I love Jesus. I love Turkey . . . [My church] helped everyone, Kurds, Arabs, without showing any discrimination.