[ad_1]
Receive last minute alerts and special reports.
ISTANBUL – The Trump administration has repeatedly threatened to impose sanctions on the NATO ally, unless & # 39; it does not release an evangelical Christian pastor detained for terrorism and espionage.
But Andrew Brunson, a native of North Carolina, is not the only American detained in the country
The wife of NASA scientist, Serkan Golge, says he has the impression that the US government "pays less attention" to his case
"When I read the newspapers, I sometimes feel frustrated. "We are only trying to save Brunson but not us," said his wife, Kubra Golge, who, like her husband, is a double US-Turkish citizen.
In February, Serkan Golge was found guilty of terrorism and sentenced to 7 ½ years in prison
The couple and their two sons were visiting Turkey in July 2016, she said, when her husband was arrested by police while he was charged
Some 50,000 people were arrested and more than 110,000 were removed from the government Since 1965, Serkan Golge has been behind bars and his wife has stated that he has been banned from leaving the country with their sons aged 2 and 7 years.
She stated that prosecutors allege that Serkan Golge was a supporter of the US head of state Fethullah Gulen, whom Turkey accuses of orchestrating the coup
![Fethullah Gulen [19659006] Fethullah Gulen in 2014. </span><span class=](https://media1.s-nbcnews.com/j/newscms/2017_45/2221696/171110-fetullah-gulen-turkey-mc-1231_2fb17948a4015ef6b6ed8cd142f9b2dc.fit-560w.JPG)
Selahattin Sevi / Zaman Daily News via EPA File Gulen, who lives in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania, denies the prosecution. Washington's refusal to extradite is a major obstacle in relations with Turkey.
Kubra Golge is particularly frustrated by a letter signed by 66 senators in April warning that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan would take action if Brunson was not released
The letter indicated that others US citizens and Turkish employees of the US government were detained for political purposes, but named only Brunson and did not detail any other cases.
"I feel frustrated, [Brunson’s] the only guy whose life has fallen," said Kubra Golge. We are also citizens.
Vice President Mike Pence and President Donald Trump both mentioned Brunson on Twitter last week, calling him a "great Christian" and "innocent man of faith"
These tweets have made another American stuck in Turkey wonder if he is "As a US citizen, I wish the President and Vice President [the] mention our names, "said Ismail Kul, a 45-year-old Turkish-American, who was also imprisoned as a result of
Kul, a chemistry professor who worked at the Widener University of Pennsylvania, lived in the United States for 25 years, he said, and was on vacation in Turkey when the coup attempt took place. accusations of links with Gulen. He was released in January of this year. However, Kul says that it is forbidden to leave the country.
He wondered if being a Muslim could be the reason why his case does not get the same attention as Brunson's. "[Trump] said that he was a good Christian, his family needs him, he is a good husband.Are we bad people, you know? My family didn't Does not she need me? Did not I serve America? "Kul said. "Should I change my religion?"
A State Department official told NBC News that he continued to urge the Turkish authorities to resolve the cases of US citizens and local US government employees detained on "little evidence."
Howard Eissenstat, a Middle East history professor with a focus on Turkey at St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York, said that evangelicals in the United States have been well mobilized to support the case of Brunson.
But Eissenstat added that a Foreign Relations Committee bill to limit lending to Turkey was focused on all US citizens and local US employees. Embassy that was detained.
The Turkish authorities have repeatedly stated that the judiciary of the country is independent. The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not responded to NBC News' request for comment
"The administration continues to work for the speedy return of all Americans unjustly detained abroad, including Pastor Brunson, "said a spokesman. E-mail. "President Trump will never forget one of ours."
[ad_2]
Source link
