President Trump vowed Thursday to slap Turkey with sanctions for detaining a US pastor on terror and espionage charges — demanding strongman Recep Erdoğan release him immediately.
“The United States will impose large sanctions on Turkey for their long time detainment of Pastor Andrew Brunson, a great Christian, family man and wonderful human being,” Trump tweeted from aboard Air Force One.
“He is suffering greatly. This innocent man of faith should be released immediately!” the president added.
Less than an hour earlier, Vice President Mike Pence declared that unless the NATO ally releases the pastor promptly, the US “will impose significant sanctions on Turkey until this innocent man of faith is free.”
Pence spoke at the end of a three-day conference in Washington on religious freedom.
Brunson, 50, an evangelical Christian pastor from North Carolina, was sprung from jail Wednesday, after 1½ years, to serve house arrest because of “health problems,” Turkey’s official Anadolu news agency reported.
The pastor, who worked in Turkey for over 22 years, was detained in 2016 after being blamed for helping rebels in a coup. He has denied charges that he engaged in espionage and collusion with terror groups.
If convicted, Brunson could face up to 35 years in prison for “committing crimes on behalf of terror groups.”
Six senators last week introduced bipartisan legislation to restrict loans from international financial institutions to Turkey “until the Turkish government ends the unjust detention of US citizens.”