Turkey is continuing its gambit to extort the United States, holding innocent American pastor Andrew Brunson hostage.
The Turkish court once again denied another appeal for pastor Andrew’s release from house arrest and the removal of the travel ban against him. In short, they are refusing to let this innocent American come home.
President Trump has made it clear that he is not resting on pastor Andrew’s case, and the U.S. will not cave to Turkey and their outlandish demands.
The president had strong words for Turkey as he addressed reporters at the White House.
“They should have given him back a long time ago, and Turkey has in my opinion acted very, very badly,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “So, we haven’t seen the last of that. We are not going to take it sitting down. They can’t take our people.”
The president also sent a message directly to Pastor Andrew through Twitter, calling him a “wonderful Christian pastor” and letting pastor Andrew know that he considers him a “patriot hostage.”
“Turkey has taken advantage of the United States for many years. They are now holding our wonderful Christian Pastor, who I must now ask to represent our Country as a great patriot hostage. We will pay nothing for the release of an innocent man, but we are cutting back on Turkey!”
We recently told you that Pastor Andrew had been released from a Turkish prison and was allowed to return to his house in Turkey where he currently remains under house arrest. But they will not let him come home to America.
Pastor Andrew has been wrongfully detained in Turkey for over 679 days.
As ACLJ Chief Counsel Jay Sekulow stated:
In diplomacy, sometimes you hit a bump in the road. Clearly we have hit such a bump.
While I remain hopeful for the expeditious release of pastor Andrew, let me be clear that we fully support the president’s action in refusing to pay a ransom to Turkey—a NATO ally—for the release of an innocent man.
We support the president and his efforts to continue to place economic pressure on Turkey. As President Trump has stated, pastor Andrew—who is being punished because of his Christian faith—is a “great patriot.”
The ACLJ continues to represent Pastor Andrew’s family, and we have mobilized our international resources—including ACLJ-affiliated offices in the region—to tirelessly advocate for his freedom.
We have also launched a global legal advocacy campaign as we fight for pastor Andrew’s freedom. The world must unite with one voice to end this injustice against an innocent Christian pastor and demand Turkey release pastor Andrew now. {eoa}
For the original article, visit aclj.org.
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