Andrew Craig Brunson is a pastor from North Carolina who, for the past twenty-three years, has lived in Turkey with his wife and three children.  He was the pastor of the Izmir Diriliş (the Resurrection) Church, a small evangelical Presbyterian congregation in the city of Izmir with about twenty-five members. When he arrived home on October 7, 2016 he found a written summons to report with his passport to a local police station. Pastor Brunson assumed the summons was related to his routine application for a renewal of his residence visa so he reported to the Izmir police that same day. The police informed him that an order of deportation had been issued against him and he was considered a threat to national security.  Pastor Brunson was known and respected by his own church and other Christian congregations, and the Brunson children had been educated in Turkish schools.  In fact, two of the children were born in Turkey.  The family was known as people who loved and respected Turkey and the Turkish society.  His wife, Norine, was initially arrested alongside him but was released after 13 days. Norine later briefly met American Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in March 2017. She is described as the main source of news concerning the fate of her husband, such as the keenness of his devout Muslim cellmates to convert him to Islam.

The order issued against Pastor Brunson was unjust, but he has not been deported.  He was told at the time of his arrest that he would be deported within fifteen days. Since that day, over nineteen months ago now, Pastor Brunson has been held in detention at the Harmandali Detention Centre,  He was denied access to an attorney until December 9^th 2016 – over two months after his arrest when he was transferred in the middle of the night to a high security prison in Izmir. At that time, he was informed that he was being detained as a suspect, although “evidence had yet to be gathered”, on the grounds of Membership in an Armed Terrorist Organization. Indeed, on December 9^th 2016, the Izmir 5^th Penal Court of Peace ordered that he continued to be detained pending the investigation.

A lawyer who asked to visit Andrew was denied access. When the lawyer returned with an affidavit, officials told him that he signed a statement declaring that he did not want a lawyer; the document he signed waived his right to legal representation. Initially, Turkey also refused to allow a U.S. consulate representative to meet with him, a violation of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. During this period, members of the Pastor’s church attempted to bring food, water, and clothing to him, but were denied access until October 13. Pastor Brunson was not allowed contact with other prisoners and was held incommunicado in the Harmandali Detention Center.

 

In Turkey, illegal and long detentions have reached the point where there is continuous violation of international law. In a report prepared by European Human Rights Commissioner, Thomas Hammarberg, this issue was emphasized: “The Commissioner reiterates his concern about the excessive resort to remands in custody and their length, notably in the light of the case-law of the ECtHR. He urges the authorities to avoid situations where persons spend unreasonable periods in detention before they are sentenced which could amount to ‘internment by remand’. For this purpose, the exceptional nature of detentions on remand should be made clear to prosecutors and judges and the use of existing or other appropriate non-custodial alternatives should be encouraged.”

In a similar recent case, the European Court ruled in favor of several applicants who were charged of membership of an illegal organization and found that the Turkish Government had not provided any evidence of a link between the applicants themselves and the presumed criminal organization.  Since Pastor Brunson’s arrest there have been multiple appeals contesting his detention, which cited the legal deficiencies of the Turkish court’s decision. All of these appeals were summarily denied, even though no evidence has been set forth to substantiate any crime. Not only that but neither Pastor Brunson nor his attorney have ever been able to access any file or piece of evidence providing such an accusation, as his file has been sealed. The proceedings are stuck at the investigation stage and there is no indication if or when an indictment may be coming.  Part of the mystery surrounding Brunson’s arrest and detainment is that the pastor was never known as a political man.  In fact, as a religious worker he especially worked to keep political activities away from himself and his church. As explained by his lawyer, he considered that establishing political and financial relationships with governments or other groups would sully the religious beliefs in which he believes and he always defended this viewpoint.

During his time in prison, Pastor Brunson has lived under inhumane conditions, has lost over 50 pounds and has spent extended periods of time in a cell meant for eight people, but which at times has held as many as twenty-two prisoners.

A court document released at a December 9, 2016 hearing indicated that Pastor Brunson had been charged with “membership in an armed terrorist organization.” The judge reportedly mentioned allegations that Pastor Brunson is linked to the Gülen movement, which the Turkish government accuses of planning the failed July 2016 coup.  The Turkish government also claims that he works with PKK, and is involved with American espionage, among other things. They claim that he was interested in overthrowing the Turkish government, and that he supposedly helped plan the coup, which he denies.  The arrests were the aftermath of the 2016 Turkish coup d’état attempt, imprisoning tens of thousands of Turkish military personnel, civil servants, educators, academics, dissidents, and journalists.

As of October 2017, Brunson joined Americans under arrest for similar charges in Turkey including Ismail Kul, a chemistry professor at Widener University in Pennsylvania, and his brother Mustafa Kul, arrested in August 2016 in Bursa and Serkan Golge, a 37-year-old NASA physicist; and such non-Americans as U.S. embassy worker Hamza Ulucay, a Turkish national who worked in the U.S. mission in Adana for over three decades; and Metin Topuz, a Turkish national who worked in the American embassy in Istanbul. Mete Canturk, another employee of the embassy, was being sought on similar charges, with his wife and child questioned by investigators in Amasya; and the embassy’s deputy chief, Philip Kosnett, was also being sought.

He was transferred in August 2017 to Kiriklar Prison where he was put in a cell with two other men who have been accused of being members of the Gülen movement. He spends 24 hours a day in his cell, leaving for one hour weekly for visits. Sometimes he is allowed family visits and the U.S. Embassy sees him regularly.

Anadolu, a state-run news agency, reported on August 24, 2017 that the prosecutor submitted new evidence corroborating two charges against Mr. Brunson: support of a terrorist organization and political or military espionage. On March 5, a Turkish court accepted the prosecutor’s indictment.

Pastor Brunson’s first court hearing was April 16, after 18 months in government detention. Vice Chair and USCIRF advocate Kristina Arriaga and then Vice Chair Sandra Jolley visited Pastor Brunson on October 5, 2017, and confirmed the desperate conditions in which the Turkish authorities continue to hold Mr. Brunson.  The case against Pastor Brunson seems to be based on secret evidence and a secret witness. He has been incarcerated since October 2016 without due process and inadequate physical and psychological support.  Brunson, who still has not had a trial, faces up to thirty-five years in prison.

The United States Senate stopped the delivery of state of the art F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft to Turkey because of Brunson’s imprisonment.  U.S. Senators Lindsey Graham and Jeanne Shaheen traveled to Turkey to discuss the Brunson case with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on June 29.  They also visited Pastor Brunson in jail. Senator Shaheen, a Democrat who co-authored the bill in April to prevent the transfer of the F-35’s to Turkey, said, “Turkish President Erdogan’s choice to take hostages and imprison innocent Americans, to try to gain leverage over the United States, is egregious and unlawful. Erdogan and his government must abide by the rule of law within his own country and abroad, and release Pastor Andrew Brunson and other Americans unlawfully held in Turkey.

Pastor Brunson’s plight has caught the attention of hundreds of thousands of people around the world and there have been an unprecedented amount of high level demands for Pastor Brunson’s release. And yet, on August 24, 2017, the Turkish government decided to levy new and additional accusations against Pastor Brunson, these just as ludicrous as and even more disconcerting than the original. They include, Political or military espionage, Attempting to overthrow the Government, Attempting to overthrow the Turkish Grand National Assembly, and Attempting to overthrow the Constitutional Order, with the last three not only carrying aggravated life sentences but requiring that the accused used force and violence. And once again, no evidence has been put forth to substantiate such ridiculous accusations. Pastor Brunson has and continues to adamantly maintain his innocence and deny all the accusations.

Turkish President Erdoğan recently suggested a swap of Pastor Brunson for Fethullah Gülen, the cleric Erdoğan blames for the failed coup attempt in July of 2016, and who has now found refuge in the USA. The allocutions from the President of Turkey himself confirm that Pastor Brunson’s abusive detention follows Turkey’s political agenda within its relationships with the USA. It also attests of the arbitrariness of Andrew Brunson’s incarceration who has simply become a bargaining chip for Turkey.

According to Slate “The case against Brunson is reportedly based on the testimony of an undisclosed witness, though reports vary as to what exactly the witness alleges. In one version, Brunson attended a Gulenist event. In another, he spoke positively once about relations between Christians and the movement.” Brunson was charged with “membership in an armed terrorist organization,” “gathering state secrets for espionage, attempting to overthrow the Turkish parliament and government, and to change the constitutional order.” 

A December 14, 2016 Sabah daily news story, that was said to be based on the words of an informant, claimed that Brunson, while dispensing aid among Syrian refugees, tried to divide Turkey with sermons praising Gulenism and by speaking in support of the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). The pro-Erdogan administration newspaper Takvim alleges that Brunson was a “high-level member of the Gulen movement” and an American spy, positioned to have become CIA chief in Turkey had the 2016 coup attempt succeeded. Takvim’s editor-in-chief, Ergun Diler, alleged that Brunson fended off an attempt to assassinate him by the use of skills derived from his supposed intelligence agency training, and that Brunson was influential all over the region. Diler speculated that the CIA would assassinate Brunson in prison if it thought he would not be deported back to the U.S.

According to the Asheville Citizen-Times, they were provided a translation of the indictment by the American Center for Law and Justice. The Times also mentions that Brunson’s daughter, who was raised in Turkey, had sent a video of the Turkish dish known as maqluba to his iPhone, which was found by the Turkish government. According to the prosecution, this dish is something that Gulen supporters commonly eat.

So today, Andrew Brunson is still being arbitrarily detained in a Turkish prison, deprived of his rights, without any reason since he has not been officially charged – nor ever convicted – as there has yet to be an indictment handed down.

Brunson has said, “I am not a member of an Islamic movement. I have never seen any member of FETÖ [the Gulen movement] in my life.” In a March 2017 letter to U.S. President Donald Trump through an attorney with the American Center for Law and Justice, Brunson said, “Let the Turkish government know that you will not cooperate with them in any way until they release me.”

According to a February 2017 letter to the president of Turkey signed by 78 members of the U.S. Congress, “There appears to be no evidence to substantiate the charges against him for membership in an armed terrorist organization.”

A petition for the release of Brunson was launched on the White House’s “WE the PEOPLE” citizen petitions website in February 2017, but was later closed without garnering enough signatures. The American Center for Law and Justice launched similar petitions on its main website^[23] and the

On September 28, 2017, Erdoğan said the United States should exchange Pennsylvania-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen with Pastor Andrew Brunson, saying “You have a pastor too. Give him to us…. Then we will try [Brunson] and give him to you….””You have a pastor too. … You give us that one and we’ll work with our judiciary and give back yours.” The Federal judiciary alone determines extradition cases in the U.S.^[ An August 2017 decree gave Erdogan authority to approve the exchange of detained or convicted foreigners with people held in other countries. Asked about the suggested swap on September 28, 2017, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said: “I can’t imagine that we would go down that road. … We have received extradition requests for him [Gulen].” Anonymous US officials have said to reporters that the Turkish government has not yet provided sufficient evidence for the U.S. Justice Department to charge Gulen.

The Evangelical Presbyterian Church of America has called for a prayer and fasting October 7–8 for Brunson’s release.

On October 11, 2017, departing U.S. Ambassador to Turkey John R. Bass said Brunson “appears to be being held simply because he’s an American citizen who as a man of faith was in contact with a range of people in this country who he was trying to help, in keeping with his faith. And at a time when there were lots of interactions between many different people in society, and for some reason, some specific set of his interactions suddenly are being classified as support for terrorism, for membership in a terrorist organization. I have yet to see a consistent description of which specific terrorist organization he is supposed to be a member of. People don’t seem to have had a straight answer on that within the Turkish government. So for all those reasons, we believe he should be released. And U.S. government officials have continued to encourage the Turkish government to release him.”

In October 2017, Ihsan Ozbek, chairman of the Association of Protestant Churches in Turkey, told the New York Times.  “Andrew was a normal American Christian; he is not a spy. I know him[…].”

In May 2018 a hearing for his case occurred in Aliaga that lasted eleven hours. The judge dismissed all of Brunson’s witnesses without listening to any of their testimony. Sandra Jolley, Vice Chair of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom attended the case, and released the following statement:

“We leave the courthouse with serious concerns. Today’s eleven hours of proceedings were dominated by wild conspiracies, tortured logic, and secret witnesses, but no real evidence to speak of. Upon these rests a man’s life”  She described the judge’s decision not to allow any of the witnesses called by Brunson’s defense to testify on his behalf as “simply unconscionable”.

On July 5, 2018, in anticipation to Pastor Brunson’s third day of trial, 98 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), from all political groups and 21 countries, sent an open letter to remind President Erdoğan of “the European and International commitments of the Republic of Turkey in regard to freedom of religion, to the prohibition of arbitrary detention, and to the right to a fair trial.” They especially protest “against the fact that Pastor Brunson had to wait almost a year and half before being indicted” and against “the fact that the indictment associates “Christianization” with terrorism, considering the Christian faith as endangering Turkey’s unity, while Christianity has been peacefully present in this land long before the current Republic of Turkey.”

On July 18, 2018, President Trump tweeted at President Erdogan calling for Brunson’s release. Trump called the Turkish government’s refusal to release Brunson a “total disgrace,” described him as being “held hostage” and defended Brunson against the government’s accusations.

After 18 months in prison conditions that his daughter, Jacqueline Furnari, says tested his psychological endurance and caused him to lose 50 pounds, the father of three had his first hearing on April 16. A second hearing occurred in May. A lack of resolution at the end of this latest hearing has discouraged many in Brunson’s community.

“I am deeply saddened by this morning’s ruling,” Jeff Jeremiah, EPC stated clerk, told EPConnection. “Thankfully, our Lord was not surprised and continues to be in control of the situation. Our disappointment today is matched by our resolve to continue to pray and advocate for Andrew and Norine.”

During the months of his detainment—trading spaces between overcrowded cells and solitary confinement awareness and support built around calls for Brunson’s freedom. Last February, 78 members of Congress sent a letter to Erdoğan seeking Brunson’s release. Earlier this month, 98 European parliamentarians sent a letter to Istanbul condemning Brunson’s “wrongful imprisonment“ and calling for him to be allowed to return home.

He received a visit from his state senator,  Thom Tillis; representatives of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom and, in February, then-Secretary of State Rex Tillersobn. Vice President Mike Pence and ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom Sam Brownback have also been vocal advocates for Brunson and have spoken out in support of his family. Among those present at the case included US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) Vice Chair Kristina Arriaga. The commission has previously condemned the charges against Brunson and called for his release.

On the one-year anniversary of his detainment, October 7, the Evangelical Presbyterian Church issued a call for a weekend of prayer and fasting on behalf of Brunson, a member of the denomination. And in the last three months, a petition from the American Center for Law and Justice—the organization helming the campaign for Brunson’s release—urging UN intervention gained more than 580,000 signatures.

The European Center for Law and Justice (ECLJ) has fought for Brunson in front of the United Nations Human Rights Council, condemning the evidence against him as based on “hearsay and conjecture.”

“Turkey has made it clear that this is a sham trial, and, as indicated by President Erdoğan’s multiple demands to swap Pastor Brunson for Fethullah Gülen, Pastor Brunson is undoubtedly a political prisoner being held as a bargaining chip for Turkey,” ECLJ stated.

Indeed, the Turkish president openly called for a swap with the United States. “You have one pastor [of ours] as well,” Erdoğan said last year. “The pastor we have [Brunson] is on trial. [Gülen] is not—he is living in Pennsylvania. Give him to us. You can easily give him to us. You can give him right away. Then we will try [Brunson] and give him to you.”

The bargaining and statecraft has hurt the United States’ relationship with Turkey, a NATO ally. Brunson’s story plays out at a time of increasing nationalism and persecution in Turkey.

Brunson’s 19-year-old daughter, Jacqueline, spoke with Fox News in a Skype interview. “In it all, he’s remaining faithful. He’s saying, “God, I don’t understand what is happening. I don’t know how much longer this can last. I don’t know what is going to happen in the end…. God, I’m still choosing to follow You despite everything.”

Norine Brunson maintains a Facebook page with updates on Andrew. Here is her moving and inspiring post from last October:

Your prayers have helped bring Andrew to the point of writing this song about a month ago. He sings it to the Lord all the time. Thank you for praying us through.

You are worthy, worthy of my all My tears and pain I lift up as an offering Teach me to share in the fellowship of your suffering (Philippians) Lamb of God you are worthy of my all.

You are worthy, worthy of my all Adopted as a son, a brother to my King Indeed I will share in your glory if I share your suffering (Romans 8) Jesus, you are worthy of my all.

You are worthy, worthy of my all But my heart faints, drowned in sorrow, overwhelmed Make me like you, Cross-bearer, persevering, faithful to the end To stand the trial and receive the crown of life.

You are worthy, worthy of my all This is my declaration in the darkest hour Jesus, the Faithful One who loves me, always good and true You made me yours, you are worthy of my all.

I want to be found worthy to stand before you on that day With no regrets from cowardice, things left undone (that is, I want to complete what God has planned and not miss out because of fear) To hear you say “Well done, my faithful friend, now enter your reward” Jesus, my Joy, you are the prize I’m running for. (joy – I say that with my will, not my feelings)

You are worthy, worthy of my all You are worthy, worthy of my all What can I give to the Son of God, who gave himself for me Here I am, you are worthy of my all.

She ended the post with the line, “Thank you, Jesus, for putting a new song on Andrew’s lips!”

Pastor Andrew Craig Brunson is a persecuted Christian in 2018. He won’t be the last.

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