A Turkish court has sent Pastor Andrew Brunson back to prison to await a new court hearing set for October 12.
Brunson was sentenced to prison in October 2016, for the allegation that he was connected to a terror group that attempted to overthrow the Erdogan government that July. Brunson was thought to be released this week, however, his court hearing has been pushed back even further, to October 12.
“Pastor Brunson has been the victim of one of the most notorious smear campaigns in Turkish history,” Aykan Erdemir, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and former member of Turkey’s parliament, told CBN News.
Erdemir and other experts were cautiously optimistic that Brunson would be set free Wednesday, but it didn’t come to pass.
Wednesday evening, President Donald Trump tweeted his disappointment that Brunson was not released.
Turkey Wants U.S. Pastor Andrew Brunson Jailed For Life
“A total disgrace that Turkey will not release a respected U.S. Pastor, Andrew Brunson, from prison. He has been held hostage far too long. @RT_Erdogan should do something to free this wonderful Christian husband & father. He has done nothing wrong, and his family needs him!,” the president wrote on his Twitter page.
A total disgrace that Turkey will not release a respected U.S. Pastor, Andrew Brunson, from prison. He has been held hostage far too long. @RT_Erdogan should do something to free this wonderful Christian husband & father. He has done nothing wrong, and his family needs him!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 19, 2018
Brunson faces up to 35 years in prison and has denied the charges, which also includes having connections to militants with the Kurdistan Workers Party. Human rights activists and U.S. lawmakers have long blasted the allegations as baseless.
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