Türkİye

US diplomat visits pastor under house arrest in Turkey

US Pastor Brunson is facing terrorism charges in Turkey

14.08.2018 - Update : 14.08.2018
US diplomat visits pastor under house arrest in Turkey

By Safak Yel

IZMIR, Turkey

The U.S. Embassy Charge d'Affaires in capital Ankara, Jeffrey Hovenier, visited American Pastor Andrew Brunson, who is under house arrest on terrorism charges, in western Izmir province on Tuesday.

Hovenier's visit lasted for almost an hour.

After the visit, Hovenier told the press that the U.S. reiterated its position to Turkish officials on the Brunson case and other U.S. citizens under arrest; the U.S. government wants these trials to end without any delay in a fair and clear way, he added.

Also on Tuesday, Brunson's lawyer appealed to the court for Brunson's release and called for lifting a travel ban on him.

Earlier this week, a Turkish delegation returned from Washington with no movement on the detention of Brunson, who is under house arrest in Turkey on terrorism charges.

Brunson's charges include spying for the PKK -- listed as a terrorist group by both the U.S. and Turkey -- and the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the defeated coup attempt in Turkey of July 2016.

Turkey and the U.S. are currently experiencing rocky relations following Washington’s imposition of sanctions on Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu and Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul for not releasing Brunson.

The two NATO allies have been at odds since the defeated coup, which Ankara accused U.S.-based Fetullah Gulen and his FETO of masterminding.

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