WASHINGTON (RNS) — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has reiterated Trump administration promises to continue to work for the release of American pastor Andrew Brunson, who has been held in Turkey for almost two years.
“We are sparing no effort to return Pastor Brunson home to the United States,” Pompeo said Friday (Sept. 21) at the annual Values Voter Summit attended mostly by Christian conservatives from across the country. “The work is important. He has been wrongly held and his proper place is to be able to return here to once again practice his faith in our great nation.”
In August, the Trump administration sanctioned two high-level officials in Turkey for what it says is their role in the case of Brunson, who faces terrorism-related charges.
Pompeo’s speech, which was met by applause, was part of a focus on international religious liberty on the first day of the three-day summit organized by Family Research Council Action.
Brunson’s daughter, Jacqueline Furnari, spoke shortly after Pompeo’s remarks during a panel discussion on the issue. She said her family awaits her imprisoned father’s next court date on Oct. 12. He has been charged with “Christianization,” which he denies.
She recounted how her father, who has lived in Turkey since 1993 and pastored a small Protestant church there, was called to a police station where he thought he…
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