An American Pastor who worked in Turkey for 20 years was detained for supposed ties to a terrorist group.
Per Fox News, “Mr. Brunson is a pastor of a small church on the west coast of Turkey. After living peacefully in Izmir for more than 20 years, he was imprisoned based on unsubstantiated allegations of ties to the Gülen movement, a group that many blame for the coup attempt in July.”
When the government called Mr. Brunson, he thought his wife was to be granted citizen status.
The Wall Street Journal explains, “Andrew Brunson was elated when Turkey’s Interior Ministry summoned him on Oct. 7 in the coastal city of Izmir. The ministry, the American pastor imagined, was granting him and his wife, Norine, permanent-resident status after they’d spent more than two decades preaching.”
In December, Mr. Brunson’s lawyer tried to appeal the case. Turkey denied the appeal.
World Net Daily explains that Joel Richardson said, “‘In the case of evangelical Pastor Brunson, his detainment has been done entirely without legitimate charges. Christian workers in the region say that Turkey claims to have an unnamed source who says he overheard Brunson nearly a decade ago making a comment, which the government is now using to charge him with being a threat to national security,’ Richardson reported. ‘He is presently being detained indefinitely.’”
Meanwhile, ACLJ and Voice of the Martyrs is working hard to see Mr. Brunson freed.
MNN reports, “Even though the “what next” is still up in the air, there’s a few things you can do. You can sign the petition with ACLJ for Brunson’s release. And then the most helpful thing you can do is pray and take Andrew Brunson’s case before the throne of God.”
Please pray for Mr. Brunson to be freed, but most importantly that he would be bold and have opportunities to share Christ’s hope.
Fox News: Sen Lankford: Imprisoned pastor in Turkey must be released immediately
Wall Street Journal: A Christian Pastor in Turkey’s Prisons
WND: Turkey denies appeal for jailed Christian pastor
MNN: Appeal denied for American pastor imprisoned in Turkey