US slaps sanctions on Turkish officials in fight to free jailed pastor
ANCHORAGE, Alaska _ President Donald Trump on Wednesday made good on a threat to impose sanctions on Turkey over the government's continued detention of Andrew Brunson, an American Protestant preacher jailed two years ago on charges related to a failed military coup.
"The Turkish government refused to release Pastor Brunson after numerous conversations between President Trump and President (Recep Tayyip) Erdogan, and my conversations with Foreign Minister (Mevlut) Cavusoglu," Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo said in a statement. "President Trump concluded that these sanctions are the appropriate action."
Pompeo's remarks came during a brief stop here en route to Singapore for a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
At the White House, spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the administration had "seen no evidence that Pastor Brunson has done anything wrong, and we believe he is a victim of unfair and unjust detention by the government of Turkey."
The sanctions reflect a significant ratcheting up of tensions between the U.S. and Turkey, a NATO ally and crucial player in the Mideast with which the administration has had increasingly testy relations.
Brunson, a North Carolina resident, has spent nearly 21 months in a Turkish jail on charges that his supporters contend are fabricated. Last week, under U.S. pressure, he was released to house arrest, but on Tuesday, a Turkish court refused to release him pending further proceedings scheduled for October.
Brunson had worked in Turkey for two decades when he was swept up in mass arrests after members of the Turkish military attempted to oust Erdogan's government. Tens of thousands of teachers, politicians, police officers, journalists and others were arrested or fired in retaliation for the failed coup attempt.
_Los Angeles Times
