WASHINGTON (AP) — An American pastor may soon be released after two years of captivity in Turkey.
A person involved in efforts to free Andrew Brunson say the 50-year-old evangelical pastor from North Carolina could be freed at his next court appearance on Friday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because officials had not yet reached a final agreement on the release and it could still fall through.
Brunson was among thousands of people arrested in Turkey in police sweeps following a failed July 2016 coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told reporters that the U.S. is hopeful he will soon be released.
Brunson is under house arrest but could get up to 35 years in prison if convicted on charges that his lawyers say are baseless.
In a single piece? Or are they going to chop him up and carried by several guys? You know the latest fashion in Turkey…
I do believe that, in Turkey, they refer to it as carving him up.
Soooooooooooo, President Trump…Our Saudi friends would like you to stop asking about that MBS guy, and we’ll release your evangelical martyr. Deal?
So, does this mean Turkey’s in cahoots with SA? I’m confused.
And this guy… is like the poster child for crackpot white Trumper. Sorry, “economically anxious.”
I am not surprised in the least. I knew from the beginning that Andrew Brunson was going to be released before the midterms. Because Trump only cares about one thing: not US national interests or democracy or human rights, but a photo-op at the White House before November 6.