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ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Six U.S. senators introduced bipartisan legislation on Thursday to the United States of America.
The move follows a Turkish court decision on Wednesday to keep U.S. pastor Andrew Brunson in jail during his trial on terrorism and spying charges, a case that has deepened with NATO ally Washington.
The bill, dubbed the Turkey International Financial Institutions Act, direct the US executive of the World Bank and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to oppose future loans, except for humanitarian purposes, to Turkey, the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Statement .
It said the opposition should continue to be "no longer arbitrarily detaining or denying freedom of movement to United States citizens (including dual citizens) or locally employed staff members of the United States mission to Turkey."
Brunson, A Christian Pastor from North Carolina who was living in Turkey for more than two decades, was indicted on charges of helping Ankara blame for a failed coup against President Tayyip Erdogan, who was supporting PKK Kurdish activists.
Brunson, who denies the charges, faces up to 35 years in jail if found guilty.
The United States and Turkey have been formalized by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 1952.
Reporting by Daren Butler; Editing by Christian Schmollinger
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