A Turkish court on Friday convicted but released American pastor Andrew Brunson, ending his 24-month detention and allowing him to fly home, signalling a truce of sorts in a heated diplomatic dispute between Turkey and the United States. Turkey, in turn, has accused Fethullah Gulen living in exile in the US for the 2016 failed…
A Turkish court on Friday convicted, but released American pastor Andrew Brunson, ending his 24-month detention and allowing him to fly home, signalling a truce of sorts in a heated diplomatic dispute between Turkey and the United States.
Turkey, in turn, has accused Fethullah Gulen, who currently lives in exile in the US, for the 2016 failed coup in Turkey – and has been pressing the US for his extradition.
Background
Brunson, a native of North Carolina, worked as an evangelical Presbyterian pastor at the Izmir Resurrection Church. He has lived in Turkey for more than 23 years with his wife and three children,
Fethullah Gulen emerged in the 1960s as an Islamic preacher within a constitutionally secular Turkey. His advocates call him a guru of moderate Islam tinged with humanitarianism, delivering his ideology through a network of high-achieving schools in Turkey and about 140 countries.
Critics say he has built a dangerous cult that has infiltrated all corners of the Turkish state – a fifth column that has shown its true colours in this latest coup attempt.
Analysis
Pastor Andrew Brunson was arrested in October 2016. The authorities accused him of having links with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the Gulenist movement, which Turkey blames for the 2016 failed coup. He also faced up to 35 years in jail on charges of espionage.
Mr. Brunson’s prolonged detention and trial had worsened tensions between the United States and Turkey. President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence personally raised his case several times with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey. The United States government imposed financial sanctions. And members of Congress travelled to Turkey to attend his trial.
Turkey is grappling with a growing economic crisis and has been anxious to reduce a fine of billions of dollars that the United States Treasury is expected to impose on the state-owned Turkish bank, Halkbank, for its part in a conspiracy to violate American sanctions against Iran.
After the release, Brunson first landed at Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany and is expected to reach Joint Base Andrews near Washington at around 1600 Hrs EDT on Saturday. President Trump said Mr. Brunson would probably visit the White House on Saturday after landing in the US.
The additional charges of espionage against him were dropped. “This is the day our family has been praying for, I am delighted to be on my way home to the United States,” Mr. Brunson said in a statement. “My entire family thanks the president, the administration, and Congress for their unwavering support,” he added.
Dressed in a black suit, white shirt and red tie, Mr Brunson, who was one of 20 Americans charged after the coup attempt two years ago, told the court he was “an innocent man”. “I love Jesus. I love Turkey,” he said.
Speaking to reporters in Cincinnati, Mr. Trump said he was “honoured” to have Mr. Brunson back in the US. The President denied reports in the US media that the US struck a deal with Turkey to lift sanctions in order to secure Mr. Brunson’s release.
Counterpoint
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has always insisted that he could not meddle with Turkey’s judicial independence and that only the courts would decide Pastor Brunson’s fate. But the World Economic Forum places Turkey 103rd of 137 countries in the independent judiciary rankings and Turkey-watchers knew it would always come down to a political decision.
In the end, pressure from Washington on Ankara was too much. Sanctions, trade tariffs and the threat of more had led US-Turkey relations to nosedive – and with them, the Turkish lira. Facing spiralling inflation, a 40% drop in the value of the currency and the start of an economic crisis, Turkey had to take action to normalise relations with the US. Mr. Brunson was the key.
Assessment
Our assessment is that that Pastor Brunson’s case represents the religious right in the US and his release after concerted intervention by President Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and several congressional leaders is an important victory for the GOP before the mid-term elections in November. We feel that by securing Mr. Brunson’s freedom, the president may have demonstrated that his “strong-arm tactics” are effective in the realm of foreign policy.
We believe that the decision to free Mr. Brunson has come a little over a week after the disappearance of a Turk Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi dissident and columnist for The Washington Post, at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. We also feel that Ankara may be trying to mend relations with Washington to secure its help in confronting Saudi Arabia.
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