Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Turkey keeps U.S. pastor in prison on spying charges
A Turkish court refused to release an American pastor from prison, fanning tensions with Washington and sending the lira sliding on fears of U.S. retaliation. At Wednesday’s hearing, the prosecution brought forth two witnesses who claimed that Pastor Andrew Brunson had ties with separatist Kurdish militants. At the end of the session, the court adjourned the trial until Oct. 12, and rejected a request by Brunson’s attorney to release him from the jail near the western city of Izmir where he’s been held for two years. “We are disappointed in the results of today’s hearing,” the top U.S. diplomat in Turkey, Charge d’Affaires Philip Kosnett, told reporters in Izmir province after the hearing. “My government remains deeply concerned about his status, as well as the status of other American citizens and Turkish local employees of the U.S. diplomatic mission who have been detained under state of emergency rules.” Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu spoke with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the Foreign Ministry said after the court decision. The detention of the pastor, who denies any wrongdoing, has added to a long list of issues straining ties between NATO allies Turkey and the U.S. Turkey has been demanding that the U.S. extradite Fethullah Gulen, a cleric living in Pennsylvania who Turkey says masterminded a putsch attempt. The U.S., in turn, has threatened consequences if Turkey doesn’t release Americans imprisoned in the government’s post-coup crackdown, including the pastor and a NASA scientist. Potential U.S. sanctions over Turkey’s purchase of Russian S-400 missile defense system and a fine on state-run lender Turkiye Halk Bankasi AS for violating the U.S. embargo on Iran have also hampered ties. Brunson has been imprisoned since the failed coup attempt of July 2016, charged with espionage and aiding Islamic and Kurdish terrorist groups. Markets had been expecting him to be deported at Wednesday’s hearing, and the extension of his jail time sent the lira sinking as much as 0.9 percent against the dollar amid concerns the U.S. would respond with sanctions. Earlier in the day it had climbed to a one-week high on speculation he’d be released. The pastor, wearing a dark suit and an open-necked shirt, rejected the witnesses’ allegations that he directly supported the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, which is regarded as a terrorist organization by the U.S. and the European Union. “I support Turkey and Turkey’s territorial unity against the [Kurdistan Workers’ Party] and whoever else is targeting its unity,” Brunson told the court. “I am innocent of all the allegations, but I know why I am here.”