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Izmir (Agenzia Fides) - US evangelical Christian pastor Andrew Craig Brunson, arrested and tried in Turkey for alleged complicity with forces accused of terrorist acts and anti-Turkish subversive plots (see Fides 9/5/2018), was moved from jail to house arrest in Izmir on Wednesday 25 July, under conditional freedom, waiting to hear the verdict of the trial brought against him by the Turkish authorities. The provision of house arrest for Brunson was ordered by the court in Izmir while Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was out of the Country.
The entry into force of the new measure concerning the accused coincided with a new escalation of the confrontation between the US and Turkey around a story that has long gone beyond the boundaries of individual cases, becoming a real geopolitical emergency.
On Thursday, July 26, President Trump, on his twitter account, defined Brunson "a great Christian, a family man and a wonderful human being" subjected to serious suffering, demanding his immediate release. US Vice President Mike Pence also intervened on the case, repeating that Brunson is an innocent man, that there is no credible evidence against him", and threatening that the US "will impose large sanctions on Turkey for their long time detainment of Pastor Andrew Brunson. Turkey’s foreign minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, quickly responded, also via Twitter : "No one dictates Turkey. We will never tolerate threats from anybody. Rule of law is for everyone; no exception". Also Vice President Fuat Oktay repeating that Turkey will have no tolerance for unfounded and "cheap" accusations against the Turkish judiciary. The issue was also the focus of confidential talks between US and Turkish diplomatic officials.
Andrew Craig Brunson, at the head of the Evangelical Church of the Resurrection in Izmir (Smirne Diriliş Kilisesi), had been summoned by the Turkish immigration office in October 2016, along with his wife, Lyn Norine (see Fides 11/4/2018). The couple was initially informed of the obligation to leave Turkey, justifying this measure with the vague accusation of having received funds from abroad to finance missionary initiatives and to have endangered the security of the country with their activities. Subsequently, the Turkish press reported that for the evangelical pastor the expulsion decree had turned into an arrest, after a secret witness had accused him of belonging to the so-called FETO (Turkish acronym of "Fethullahnista terrorist organization", definition with which pro-government Turkish organs indicate the Gulen network).
On September 28 2017, Erdogan himself had declared himself ready to release the US evangelical pastor only if in return the US authorities will hand over to Turkey Fethullah Gulen, who has been exiled to the USA since 1999.
Over time, the crimes against Pastor Brunson by the Turkish judicial authorities have terribly increased: secret and enigmatic witnesses still taken into consideration by the court in Izmir have even accused him of supporting the emergence of an elusive "Kurdish Christian state" destined to also occupy part of the Turkish territory. (GV) (Agenzia Fides, 28/7/2018)
