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People pass by the Church of the Resurrection of Izmir, a small Protestant congregation, where Andrew Brunson served as pastor in Izmir, in western Turkey, April 15th. (1965-19002) ALIAGA, Turkey – A Turkish court on Wednesday rejected calls for the release of Andrew Brunson, a US pastor tried for terrorism-related charges whose prosecution and long-term detention have become a criminal offense. critical point in the increasingly difficult relations between the United States and Turkey.
Brunson, of North Carolina, was accused of spying and colluding with terrorist organizations, including Kurdish militants. Brunson's supporters and independent analysts called the accusations unfounded and said that it was used as currency by Turkey to obtain concessions from the United States.
He has been held by the Turkish authorities for almost two years. The supporters of Mr Brunson said that they hoped that he could be released after Wednesday's hearing after a friendly meeting between President Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the meeting from NATO in Brussels last week.
On Wednesday, after a prosecutor requested that Brunson be placed in custody, a judge set the next court date for Oct. 12.
After the hearing, Philip Kosnett, the American charge in Turkey, said "I was disappointed."
"I read the indictment, I attended three hearings, I do not believe that there is any indication that Pastor Brunson is guilty of any criminal or terrorist activity, "he said. The case tested Trump's preference for the flattery of confronting some world leaders, while he severely criticized the United States for congratulating Russian President Vladimir Putin at a summit between the two. two leaders in Helsinki.
Trump maintained a warm relationship with Erdogan even as relations between the two countries became tense and US lawmakers scoffed at Erdogan as an increasingly unpredictable and autocratic ally and called for sanctions. against Turkey.
But during the NATO summit in Brussels last week, Trump congratulated Erdogan among other NATO leaders for saying that he "does things right" ", according to a person present at the exchange.
The United States and Turkey opposed the Syrian war strategy, Turkey's plans to buy a Russian missile defense system and the imprisonment of several US citizens in Turkey . Erdogan also asked the Trump administration to extradite Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish religious living in Pennsylvania. The Turkish authorities accuse Gulen of orchestrating a failed coup in Turkey in July 2016. Gulen denied any involvement.
Erdogan suggested in a speech last year that Gulen could be exchanged for Brunson, a Christian missionary who had lived in Turkey for decades before his arrest in October 2016. After Brunson's first hearing in April, Trump tweeted about the case, that the pastor was "on trial and persecuted in Turkey for no reason."
"They call him a Spy, but I'm more of a Spy than him," Trump writes.
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