Juicy Ecumenism | Oct. 12, 2018
he Institute on Religion & Democracy (IRD) is celebrating the immediate release of Pastor Andrew Brunson after a Turkish court determined he has adequately served his sentence for allegedly aiding terrorists in a failed coup against President Tayyip Erdogan.
Pastor Brunson was arrested and jailed for the false allegations on October 7, 2016. The bogus charges sparked outrage among Christian clergy, lay leaders, and the Trump Administration. The U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Samuel Brownback traveled to Turkey in April to support Brunson during one of his trial hearings
A North Carolina native, Brunson lived and ministered for 23 years in Izmir, located along Turkey’s Aegean coast. He was the pastor of Resurrection Church in Izmir and is an ordained minister of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church.