Turkey tries US pastor who is accused of terror links
AN AMERICAN pastor yesterday denied accusations that he aided terror groups or spied against Turkey, as he went on trial in a case that has strained ties between the two countries.
Andrew Craig Brunson, a 50-yearold evangelical pastor from North Carolina, faces up to 35 years in prison on charges of “committing crimes on behalf of terror groups without being a member” and “espionage”.
Mr Brunson was arrested in the aftermath of the unsuccessful Turkish coup in 2016 for alleged links to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, as well as a network led by Fethullah Gulen, the Us-based Muslim cleric who is blamed by Turkey for the coup attempt.
The pastor served at Izmir Resurrection Church, a small Protestant congregation, and has lived in Turkey for 23 years. He denies any wrongdoing.
“I don’t accept any of the allegations or accusations,” Anadolu, the state-run news agency quoted Mr Brunson as telling the court in the town of Aliaga, some 40 miles north of the Aegean coastal city of Izmir.
“I did not engage in any illegal activity. I had no relations with anyone engaged in such activity,” Mr Brunson said. “I am a Christian pastor. I did not join an Islamic movement. Their aims and mine are different.”
The agency said the pastor delivered his defence statement in Turkish.
Thom Tillis, a North Carolina senator, and Sam Brownback, US ambassador-at-large for religious freedoms, observed the trial.
“We completely believe (that) Andrew Brunson is innocent,” Mr Brownback told reporters outside the courthouse. “We are hopeful (that) the judicial system will find that.”
He added: “You’ll continue to see very high-level US government interest in this until he is released.”
Prosecutors are seeking a 15-year prison sentence for alleged crimes committed in the name of Mr Gulen’s group and the PKK. They want the pastor to serve another 20 years if he is found guilty of obtaining state secrets for political and military spying purposes using his religious work as cover.
The indictment – based on the testimony of witnesses, including three secret ones, and digital evidence – claims the pastor worked to convert Kurds to Christianity to sow discord.