The Order applauds this news and hopes that Turkey’s President Erdogan will accept this deal, reversing his stance on Pastor Brunson’s case, and that President Trump will take whatever prudent additional actions that may prove necessary to free Pastor Brunson. Also, in order to relieve its present economic situation and regain an honored place among the family of nations, Turkey should act swiftly to reaffirm religious freedom and respect for the human rights of all the Christians in that land, and to redress the unjust and unwarranted plight of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
“Report: White House Has Secret Deal With Turkey To Release Jailed American Pastor,” by Chuck Ross, Daily Caller, October 11, 2018:
The White House has reportedly struck a secret deal with the Turkish government to release an American pastor who has been jailed in Turkey for more than two years.
The Trump administration expects that the Turkish government will release the pastor, Andrew Brunson, within days, according to NBC News.
Brunson and his wife were jailed in October 2016 on allegations that they helped groups designated as terrorist organizations in Turkey. Brunson, who operated Christian churches in Turkey for 23 years until his arrest, is currently scheduled to attend a court hearing in his case on Friday.
President Donald Trump reportedly believed in July that he had struck a deal with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to free Brunson. Trump asked the Israeli government to release a Turkish woman from jail there in exchange for Brunson’s freedom, according to reports. But instead of allowing Brunson to return back to the U.S., the Turkish court ordered him held on house arrest while he awaited trial.
Trump unleashed on Erdogan on Twitter, and the administration placed economic sanctions on the Turkish government. Erdogan has said in public that he is holding Brunson as a bargaining chip in hopes of forcing the U.S. to extradite Fethullah Gulen, a political foe of Erdogan’s who is living in exile in the U.S….
