Turkey Rejects Brunson’s Rights Violation Claim
01/08/2021 Turkey (International Christian Concern) – Yesterday, Turkey’s constitutional court overturned an appeal made by US Pastor Andrew Brunson over rights violations on the basis that it was “inadmissible” and openly groundless.
Pastor Brunson was arrested in December 2016 and was charged with espionage and committing crimes in the name of a terrorist organization as a non-member. He was subsequently convicted and issued a prison sentence. He was widely considered a political hostage, and part of a broader trend in Turkey to hold Christians captive to leverage political goals (for more information, see ICC’s joint report: Turkey Challenges Facing Christians 2016-2020).