Free Republic

Evangelical leaders have responded to the New York Times' claim that the Trump administration is undermining its own priority of protecting religious freedom by emphasizing the policy priorities of evangelical Christians. On Saturday, The New York Times editorial board published an opinion piece titled "A Too-Narrow Vision of Religious Freedom." The piece essentially argues that although "the Trump administration embraces a laudable desire to expand religious tolerance" across the globe, it is the administration's "own intolerance toward some" that "undermines the message." For examples of intolerance, NYT mentions "Trump's disgraceful attempts to ban Muslims from some countries from entering the...

Gunshots have been fired at the US embassy in Ankara but caused no casualties, Turkish and American officials said, amid escalating tensions between the two NATO allies.

American evangelicals and human rights advocates are encouraging the United States to pressure Turkey to release American missionary Andrew Brunson, who faces ridiculous allegations of complicity in Kurdish terrorism. Are they right to do so, even if the price is estrangement with a key NATO member and harm to US regional interests? How should Christians in their political witness balance Christian causes versus the wider national good? The president, vice president and secretary of state have all denounced Turkey's imprisonment of Brunson. Economic sanctions have been levied against Turkish products, and personal sanctions have targeted two Turkish officials. Congress has...

The Trump White House has turned down an offer from the Turkish government to release imprisoned evangelical pastor Andrew Brunson. The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday that the White House rejected an offer from Ankara to release the imprisoned North Carolina native in exchange for the United States' forgiveness of billions of dollars of fines against one of Turkey's largest state lenders, citing an unnamed senior White House official. According to the official, Turkey offered to release Brunson if the U.S. drops its investigation in Halkbank (formerly known as Turkiye Halk Bankasi), which faces fines for violating U.S. sanctions against...

Trump met Erdogan at a Nato meeting early in June. Their discussions were very friendly, and after they ended, Trump thought they had made a deal: Trump would ask Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to release a Turkish citizen, Ebru Ozkan, arrested because of alleged terrorist links to Hamas, and then Turkey would release pastor Andrew Brunson, who was arrested in Turkey on October 2016 on charges of espionage, which the US considers are bogus charges. So on July 14, Trump called Netanyahu and requested that Ozkan be released, and she was released the next day. But Brunson was not...

....According to the Middle East Eye, officials in Ankara are willing to concede to US demands for the freedom of Andrew Brunson, an evangelical preacher accused of playing a role in the attempted coup there in 2016. Officials reportedly know Brunson's release is the first step to alleviating the diplomatic and economic crises sparked between the two countries, but are aiming....

Turkey’s battered lira weakened more than 6 percent against the dollar on Friday, after a U.S. warning that Ankara should expect more economic sanctions unless it hands over detained American evangelical pastor Andrew Brunson. It has lost nearly 40 percent of its value against the dollar this year, hit by both the diplomatic rift and investor alarm about President Tayyip Erdogan’s influence over monetary policy. Erdogan, a self-described “enemy of interest rates”, wants to lower borrowing costs despite high inflation. The currency crisis has deepened concerns about the broader economy - particularly Turkey’s dependence on energy imports and whether foreign-currency...

It’s never a good idea to negotiate with a hostage-taker, but when it’s a NATO ally, there isn’t much choice. The Trump administration has been trying to get back a Christian pastor detained in Turkey since October 2016, and when a possible deal at the sidelines of the NATO summit fell through, it decided to drop the hammer. A couple of weeks ago, the administration sanctioned Turkey’s justice and interior ministers — remember, these are top officials of a fellow NATO country. The action hit the Turkish currency and stock market hard. Then President Donald Trump intervened in his inimitable...

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - The U.S. Embassy in Ankara has not put out a statement regarding pastor Andrew Brunson, an embassy official told Reuters on Monday, after a report on social media cited the embassy as saying he would be released from house arrest by Aug. 15. The case of Brunson, an evangelical Christian being tried by a Turkish court, is one of a series of disputes that lies at the heart of deteriorating ties between the two NATO allies.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Turkey's Star that CIA and Mossad agents are planning to rescue a pastor Andrew Brunson. According to the report, agents are already in Brunson's neighborhood. Brunson has been held in Turkey for nearly two years. He is currently under house arrest and must wear an electronic tracking device at all times. Last week, Israel released a Turkish woman who transferred money to the Hamas terror group, in a gesture intended to aid Brunson's release. However, Turkey refused to release Brunson, leading US President Donald Trump to impose sanctions on the country. Turkey responded to...

The White House said the North Carolina native is "a victim of unfair and unjust attention" and should be released. LONDON — Turkey demanded an immediate reversal from the U.S. after its NATO ally imposed sanctions over the treatment of detained American pastor Andrew Brunson. Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said the Trump administration’s decision was “incompatible with the most simple diplomatic courtesy and mutual respect" and risked regional instability. Relations between the countries have plummeted after Brunson, 50, was arrested in 2016 on charges of "committing crimes on behalf of terror groups without being a member" and espionage. He...

WASHINGTON — Vice President Mike Pence said Thursday that he has spoken with jailed pastor Andrew Brunson and warned Turkish leaders that if they don't release the church leader the country will face "significant sanctions," a promise President Donald Trump has seconded. Pence, who first tweeted the ultimatum to Turkey president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Thursday morning, doubled down on his threat when he gave a keynote speech at the State Department's first-ever three-day Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom. Before foreign delegations from over 80 countries, Pence publicly reprimanded the NATO ally, who has held the North Carolina pastor since October...

Christian pastor who has been detained in Turkey for 21 months has been released after President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence threatened to impose a new “harsh policy” and sanctions, according to Reuters. Andrew Brunson, a North Carolina native, left a Turkish prison on Wednesday and will reportedly be transferred to house arrest. Many are crediting Trump sand Pence for his release from prison, as the White House threatened to impose a new round of brutal sanctions on Turkey if the American pastor was not released. Brunson, who has worked in Turkey for more than 20 years, was...

ISTANBUL — North Carolina pastor Andrew Brunson was released from prison in Turkey Wednesday after being incarcerated for nearly two years there on terrorism charges. Brunson is now under house arrest while the charges remain the same. He faces up to 35 years in prison, his lawyer told NBC News. Brunson, 50, is an evangelical pastor from Black Mountain, North Carolina, who has spent the last 23 years living in Turkey, where he and his wife raised their daughter and two sons. He was running the Resurrection Church in the western city of Izmir when he was detained in October...

Defying expectations, a Turkish court rebuffed appeals today to free Andrew Brunson, the US pastor whose trial on bogus terror charges has become a litmus test for turbulent ties between Turkey and the United States. The trial was adjourned until Oct. 12.The North Carolina pastor has been charged with espionage and links to coup plotters and Kurdish militants and could face up to 35 years if convicted. Brunson continued to deny any wrongdoing in his third courtroom hearing, amid a string of wild assertions from witnesses for the prosecution. “I am an innocent man on all these charges. I reject...

WASHINGTON (REUTERS) - Three U.S. senators introduced a measure on Thursday aimed at blocking the transfer of Lockheed Martin's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter to Turkey, a NATO ally and one of nine partner nations involved in producing the high-tech, radar-evading aircraft. The bill, by Republicans James Lankford and Thom Tillis, and Democrat Jeanne Shaheen, comes at a time of deteriorating relations between the United States and Turkey, which supported the fight against Islamic State but has become increasingly worried about U.S. backing for Kurdish fighters in north Syria. snip Turkey plans to buy more than 100 of the F-35 aircraft....

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. Senate committee passed its version of a $716 billion defense policy bill on Thursday, including a measure to prevent Turkey from purchasing Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter jets.The amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, from Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen and Republican Senator Thom Tillis, would remove Turkey from the F-35 program over its detention of U.S. citizen Andrew Brunson, Shaheen’s office said. Brunson, a Christian pastor who could be jailed for up to 35 years, denied terrorism and spying charges in a Turkish court this month. He has been in pre-trial...

A U.S. Senate committee passed a $716 billion defense policy bill on Thursday, including a measure to prevent Turkey from purchasing Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter jets.The amendment to the National Defense Authorisation Act, from Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen and Republican Senator Thom Tillis, would remove Turkey from the F-35 program over its detention of U.S. citizen Andrew Brunson, Shaheen’s office said.Brunson, a Christian pastor who may be jailed for up to 35 years, has denied terrorism and spying charges in a Turkish court this month. He has been in pre-trial detention since 2016.It also faults NATO ally Turkey...

STANBUL (Reuters) - President Tayyip Erdogan said the United States should look at its own actions if it wants the return of an American Christian pastor who has been jailed in Turkey for suspected links to a 2016 failed coup. Erdogan made the comment in a live interview with broadcaster NTV. Andrew Brunson, who has lived in Turkey for more than two decades, was indicted on charges of helping the group that Ankara holds responsible for the failed coup against Erdogan. He faces up to 35 years in prison. Brunson denies the charges.

If the answer to the title question is yes (and that’s still a big “if” at this point) then the response should be that it’s about time. Pastor Andrew Brunson has been languishing in one of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s cells for more than five months on trumped up charges that he’s somehow associated with terrorists in that country. The lack of attention to this situation by Barack Obama was an infuriating embarrassment. The continued lack of action on the part of the Trump administration was an outrage. But perhaps that’s finally changing. A new report from NBC...