You’d think this would be happening in Iran, but it’s not. It’s happening in Erdogan’s post-coup Turkey:
NY POST – The family of a US pastor imprisoned in Turkey launched a campaign Wednesday for his release, saying the North Carolina native is being held on false terrorism-related charges and that his life is in danger.
Andrew Brunson, 48, pastor of a Protestant church in Izmir, was locked up Friday after first being detained in October. The government accuses him of having ties to an American-based cleric, Fetullah Gulen, whom Ankara blames for a July coup attempt.
“The government of Turkey — led by an Islamic party — has begun increased crackdowns on Christians, and Pastor Andrew, if convicted, may face years in prison based on extremely serious — and false — charges,” said Jordan Sekulow, executive director of the American Center for Law and Justice, which is representing Brunson’s family.
Here’s how the arrest began:
Brunson was summoned to a local police station in Izmir on Oct. 7. According to the family, Brunson, a US citizen, thought he would be receiving a long-awaited permanent residence card. Instead, Brunson was told he was being deported because he was a “threat to national security.”
Brunson was arrested and fingerprinted while awaiting deportation. Officials confiscated personal items, including his phone, and denied him access to a Bible. They also prevented him from consulting an attorney and kept him in isolation for a period of time.
But Brunson’s ordeal would soon take a dark turn.
On Friday, after 63 days in captivity, Brunson was taken to a counter-terrorism center in Izmir. After further questioning, he was charged with “membership in an armed terrorist organization,” and a judge ordered he be imprisoned instead of deported.
Lawyers for the ACLJ told FoxNews.com Wednesday that the charging documents include no evidence to support claims the man broke any law. If convicted of such terrorism charges, Brunson could face years of imprisonment.
“We are launching a global campaign to call attention to his plight demanding that Turkey — a NATO member — release Pastor Andrew without delay,” Sekulow said.
The family said the US State Department as well as a member of Congress have been quietly negotiating his release over the last several weeks.
Since the ‘coup’ attempt, Erdogan has been on a rampage taking out his enemies in massive numbers, all in the name of phony Gulen terrorism charges. Erdogan has been trying to get the US to ‘extradite’ Fetullah Gulen to Turkey, accusing him of planning the coup attempt, but so far even Obama won’t go that far as Turkey has failed to provide the evidence needed to warrant such an extradition.
But in Turkey, they’ve actually named Gulen’s so-called terrorist group “FETO” and Erdogan has convinced much of the country that Gulen is an evil that needs to be eradicated. And now they are using such phony claims to persecute this Christian pastor who is not just an American citizen, but a native of my home state, North Carolina.
It wouldn’t surprise me if this Christian Pastor is being used as leverage to force Obama to extradite Gulen to Turkey.
Either way, this is ridiculous Christian persecution in Turkey based on bogus trumped up charges and I pray it gets resolved without this man suffering much more.