Breit Bart | Sept. 24, 2018
The pastor’s daughter Jacqueline Furnari declared, “A year and a half after his initial detention [in October 2016], Turkey finally charged him when they handed down an indictment — 62 pages. In this indictment, my father’s crime is named as ‘Christianization,’ essentially equating it to terrorism and espionage and it is, for the most part, based on secret witnesses’ testimony.”
Brunson, charged with terrorism and espionage in connection to the failed coup attempt in July 2016, is facing 35 years in Turkish custody.
In July of this year, Turkish authorities released him from jail and placed him on house arrest after he served two years behind bars.
Turkey detained Brunson in October 2016 in the wake of the failed attempt to overthrow Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s regime. Ankara accused the pastor of helping individuals who allegedly participated in the insurrection.
At the time of his arrest, North Carolina-native Brunson was running the Resurrection Church in the Turkish city of Izmir.
Furnari noted that there is no physical evidence against her father. She stressed that her family’s faith in God remains strong despite her father’s ordeal in Turkey.