Death Professor
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Sad disappointing news, Turkey even with Erdogan had to bent it's will against U.S. Just like we gave Raymond Davis against American pressure.....
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/12/world/europe/turkey-us-pastor-andrew-brunson.html
By Carlotta Gall
Mr. Brunson, who was accused of spying and aiding terrorists, had been sentenced to 3 years 1 month 15 days in prison. The judge, citing time served, allowed him to leave the country immediately.
Mr. Brunson’s prolonged detention and trial had worsened tensions between the United States and Turkey. President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence personally raised his case several times with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey. The United States government imposed financial sanctions. And members of Congress traveled to Turkey to attend his trial.
American officials said Mr. Brunson’s detention, along with that of about 20 other Turkish-Americans held after a coup attempt in 2016, was an attempt by Ankara to gain leverage in its various disputes with Washington.
After the pastor’s release, Mr. Trump invited him to come to the White House as early as Saturday. “We’re very honored to have him back here with us,” the president told reporters in Ohio, where he was traveling for a campaign rally. “He suffered greatly.”
Turkey is grappling with a growing economic crisis and has been anxious to reduce a fine of billions of dollars that the United States Treasury is expected to impose on the state-owned Turkish bank, Halkbank, for its part in a conspiracy to violate American sanctions against Iran.
The decision to free Mr. Brunson came a little over a week after the disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi dissident and columnist for The Washington Post, at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. Turkish officials say they believe Mr. Khashoggi was killed inside the consulate, and Ankara may be trying to mend relations with Washington to secure its help in confronting Saudi Arabia, analysts said.
Mr. Trump, however, seemed to want to put distance between the Brunson and the Khashoggi disputes.
“We went through a system and we got him out,” he said of Mr. Brunson. “We tried to get him out for a long time. This has nothing to do with anything, and there’s no deal there at all.”
After the hearing, Mr. Brunson, an evangelical pastor who runs the small Resurrection Church in Izmir, left the courthouse by car and returned to his home before departing for Germany, en route to the United States.
............
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/12/world/europe/turkey-us-pastor-andrew-brunson.html
By Carlotta Gall
- Oct. 12, 2018
Mr. Brunson, who was accused of spying and aiding terrorists, had been sentenced to 3 years 1 month 15 days in prison. The judge, citing time served, allowed him to leave the country immediately.
Mr. Brunson’s prolonged detention and trial had worsened tensions between the United States and Turkey. President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence personally raised his case several times with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey. The United States government imposed financial sanctions. And members of Congress traveled to Turkey to attend his trial.
American officials said Mr. Brunson’s detention, along with that of about 20 other Turkish-Americans held after a coup attempt in 2016, was an attempt by Ankara to gain leverage in its various disputes with Washington.
After the pastor’s release, Mr. Trump invited him to come to the White House as early as Saturday. “We’re very honored to have him back here with us,” the president told reporters in Ohio, where he was traveling for a campaign rally. “He suffered greatly.”
Turkey is grappling with a growing economic crisis and has been anxious to reduce a fine of billions of dollars that the United States Treasury is expected to impose on the state-owned Turkish bank, Halkbank, for its part in a conspiracy to violate American sanctions against Iran.
The decision to free Mr. Brunson came a little over a week after the disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi dissident and columnist for The Washington Post, at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. Turkish officials say they believe Mr. Khashoggi was killed inside the consulate, and Ankara may be trying to mend relations with Washington to secure its help in confronting Saudi Arabia, analysts said.
Mr. Trump, however, seemed to want to put distance between the Brunson and the Khashoggi disputes.
“We went through a system and we got him out,” he said of Mr. Brunson. “We tried to get him out for a long time. This has nothing to do with anything, and there’s no deal there at all.”
After the hearing, Mr. Brunson, an evangelical pastor who runs the small Resurrection Church in Izmir, left the courthouse by car and returned to his home before departing for Germany, en route to the United States.
............
