Andrew Brunson

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Andrew Brunson

Andrew Craig Brunson (born January 3, 1968 in Black Mountain , North Carolina ) is an American pastor of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church . He had been in Turkish custody since October 7, 2016 and was released into house arrest on July 23, 2018 , which was lifted on October 12, 2018. US President Trump had demanded his release and imposed punitive tariffs on Turkey .

Life

Andrew Brunson was raised in a religious community in North Carolina, the eldest of seven children of missionaries Ron and Pam Brunson. In 1991 he completed his training as a Presbyterian clergyman at the Trinity Evangelical Divinity School with a Master of Arts (MA), then at the Erskine Theological Seminary with a Master of Divinity .

In 1993 Brunson moved to Turkey with his wife Norine, with whom he has three children, to do missionary work there. In 2001 he received his doctorate from the University of Aberdeen with a thesis on the reception of Psalm 118 in the Gospel of John .

In 2010, Brunson founded the Church of the Resurrection (Diriliş Kilisesi) in Izmir . The small congregation has about 25 members who meet regularly. " There are a few dozen such foreign pastors in Turkey - the few Protestants in the country depend on them because the church in Turkey is not allowed to train pastors."

When he wanted to have his visa extended on October 7, 2016 , Brunson was arrested along with his wife Norine. Both were first in detention taken because Brunson "created with funds from overseas missionary initiatives launched and should have thus endangering state security". The couple was not deported. An anonymous witness accused Brunson of membership in the Gülen movement . While Norine Brunson was released after a few days, Andrew Brunson remained in solitary confinement for two months without a lawyer and without an arrest warrant .

In December 2016, Brunson was brought before the magistrate .

Brunson is accused of supporting an armed terrorist organization, espionage and supporting the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). He rejects these allegations, but admits that he has traveled several times to southeast Turkey to look after Syrian refugees. If convicted, he faces 35 years imprisonment, namely 15 years for supporting a militant terrorist group without being a member and 20 years for espionage.

At the remand prison, Brunson was initially housed with 21 other inmates in a cell that was intended for eight people.

While Brunson's defense attorney was not given access to the files, the Turkish media spread reports that Brunson had been paid by Fethullah Gülen ( Yeni Asır ) , that he was a CIA agent and masterminded the 2016 coup attempt ( Takvim ) . He was also active for the PKK ( Sabah ) . The points were supported by testimony from witnesses and messages sent from his cell phone. In addition, Brunson had traveled to Kurdish areas several times from 2014-2017, even though he was deployed in Izmir. During this time, his mobile phone logged into the cellular network in the Suruç district of Urfa 1,306 times, in other districts of Urfa 192 and in Diyarbakır twice.

The indictment is based on anonymous testimony and secret documents accusing Brunson of “Christianizing” Kurds in order to fuel separatism ; In doing so, he laid the foundation for the attempted coup on July 15, 2016 , for which the Turkish government blames the Gülen movement. The indictment continues to accuse Brunson of coordinating with the Gülen movement and militant Kurds to cause unrest in the country. In order to collect information, he targeted citizens “with certain ethnic roots”. The prosecution witnesses (two of whom were only seen on video to keep their identities a secret) accused Brunson of accommodating Kurdish refugees in a guest house and expressing sympathy for the PKK at church services and gatherings. He is said to have distributed Kurdish Bibles with the PKK logo and, under the pretext of humanitarian aid, hid people who wanted to join Kurdish units in Syria . A witness claimed to have learned from diplomatic circles that Brunson had passed on the coordinates of Kurdish guerrilla bases in Syria so that the CIA could send them weapons.

Evangelical Christians in the United States participated in the Brunson case; the Christian conservative American Center for Law and Justice appeared as compared to the US government and other agencies lobby on for Brunson.

In 2017, the US government requested Brunson's release. President Erdoğan offered to release Brunson in exchange for Fethullah Gülen, who is in exile in the United States . "The decree with the number 694 expressly authorizes the President to exchange foreigners imprisoned in Turkey for Turks who are imprisoned abroad - if« the national security and the interests of the country so require »."

The conflict over Brunson's release contributed to a deterioration in diplomatic relations between the two countries. The US imposed punitive tariffs on steel and aluminum on August 10, 2018, and Turkey responded on August 15 by increasing import tariffs on US products, especially cars and alcohol.

Brunson's trial began in April 2018 and ended on October 12. Brunson was sentenced to prison "for supporting a terrorist organization"; the judges lifted the detention again - because of the already served sentence "and good conduct".

After the early parliamentary elections and in view of galloping inflation in the national currency , President Erdoğan is apparently trying to ease the tension on external fronts in order to expand his room for maneuver.

Brunson was under house arrest from July 25, 2018 until he left Turkey on October 12, 2018, according to Turkish authorities out of consideration for his poor health.

Publications

  • Psalm 118 in the Gospel of John. An Intertextual Study on the New Exodus Pattern in the Theology of John ( WUNT II 158). Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen 2003. ISBN 978-3-16-147990-8 .
  • with Craig Borlase: Geisel für Gott (translated by Oliver Roman), Gerth Medien, Aßlar 2020, ISBN 978-3-95734-703-9 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Zeynep Bilginsoy: Turkey: American pastor on trial for terror let out of jail. In: The Times of Israel. July 25, 2018. Retrieved August 17, 2018 .
  2. ↑ a b c d Andrew Brunson: The pastor between the fronts. In: Deutsche Welle. August 14, 2018. Retrieved August 17, 2018 .
  3. ↑ a b c d e f Andrew Brunson: the US pastor at the heart of an international crisis. In: The Guardian. August 16, 2018. Retrieved August 17, 2018 .
  4. ↑ a b The man who triggered the Turkey quake. In: Deutsche Welle. August 14, 2018. Retrieved August 17, 2018 .
  5. ^ A b c Susanne Güsten: in Turkish custody. In: Deutschlandfunk. June 1, 2017, accessed August 17, 2018 .
  6. ↑ a b Erdogan wants to release the US pastor if ... In: kathisch.de. October 2, 2017, accessed August 18, 2018 .
  7. ↑ Yıldıray Oğur: Türk hükümeti, 'FETÖ ve PKK ile irtibatlı bir CIA ajanı'yla karşı karşıya olmadığının farkında ... Retrieved March 6, 2019 (Turkish).
  8. ↑ Ayla Yeal Lackley, Laura Pitiel: The evangelical pastor at heart of Turkey's dispute with US. In: The Financial Times. August 15, 2018. Retrieved August 17, 2018 .
  9. ^ A b c Carlotta Gall: Turkey Resists Pressure to Release American Pastor From Jail. In: The New York Times. July 18, 2018, accessed August 17, 2018 .
  10. ↑ Daniel Steinvorth: Erdogan, the hostage taker. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung. September 29, 2017. Retrieved August 18, 2018 .
  11. ↑ Mike Pence wants to keep pressure on Turkey. In: time online. August 16, 2018. Retrieved August 17, 2018 .
  12. ↑ Turkey increases tariffs on US products. In: ZEIT online. August 15, 2018. Retrieved August 17, 2018 .
  13. ↑ a b zeit.de October 12, 2018: The hostage became worthless
  14. ↑ a b zeit.de: Turkish court releases US pastor Andrew Brunson
personal data
SURNAME Brunson, Andrew
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Brunson, Andrew C .; Brunson, Andrew Craig (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American Presbyterian clergyman
DATE OF BIRTH 3rd January 1968
PLACE OF BIRTH Black Mountain , North Carolina