Turkey moves US pastor to house arrest from prison

Turkey yesterday moved an American pastor who has spent almost two years imprisoned on terrorism-related charges from jail to house arrest, in a controversial case that has increased tensions with the US.

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

Mr 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 yesterday.

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

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

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

Mr 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 US-based Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen who Ankara claims was behind a 2016 coup, the other the Kurdistan Workers’ Party .

His next hearing is due to be on October 12.

The pastor has denied the charges and his defence team long argued the case was built on questionable witness statements that should never have been brought to court.

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

But Mr Halavurt said that there was nothing official to prove that Mr Brunson had health problems.

Mr 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 coup bid.

The measure ended on July 18. But the Turkish parliament yesterday passed an anti-terrorism law that strengthens detention powers. Strongly criticised by activists as essentially replacing the state of emergency, the new law 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 up to four days. This period can be extended on two occasions under special circumstances.