Pastor Andrew Brunson will be spending his second Christmas in a Turkish jail, unfairly held by the Erdogan government on manufactured charges. This past October, a delegation from the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) visited Pastor Brunson. Brunson, who has lost considerable weight from the stress of constant confinement, had a clear message to the delegation: do not forget me.
Brunson, a North Carolina native, has spent over 20 years ministering to Christians in Turkey, a minority now under attack by the Erdogan government. Last February, 78 members of Congress, led by Sens. Bob Corker (R-TN) and Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Reps. Ed Royce (R-CA) and Eliot Engel (D-NY), wrote to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan seeking the “unconditional release” of Brunson. In October, Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) called for the Trump administration to impose sanctions against the Turkish government to ensure the release of the pastor. A Senate panel has moved to give the administration that power by authorizing the State Department to sanction specific Turkish officials responsible for the unjust imprisonment of American citizens. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson should make it clear to Ankara that it must release Brunson or the U.S. will start issuing designations.
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