...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
is going on trial for alleged terror ties and spying in a case that has increased tensions between Washington and Ankara.
Andrew Craig Brunson, a 50-year-old evangelical pastor from North Carolina, is facing up to 35 years in prison on charges of "committing crimes on behalf of terror groups without being a member" and "espionage." The trial begins Monday in western Izmir province.
Brunson was enjugged
Youse'll never take me alive coppers!... [BANG!]... Ow!... I quit!
in December 2016 for alleged links to both an outlawed Kurdish holy warrior group and the network of the U.S.-based Moslem holy man who Turkey blames for a criminal masterminding a failed military coup that year. The holy man, Fethullah Gülen
... a Turkish preacher living in Pennsylvania whom the current govt of Turkey considers responsible for all the ills afflicting Turkey and possibly the entire world..., denies the claim.
Brunson, who has lived in Turkey for 23 years, has denied all allegations, saying that he solely worked as a pastor.
The
The American Center for Law and Justice, a conservative Christian group in the U.S., has called Brunson a "hostage of the
Brunson’s lawyer, Ismail Cem Halavurt, told The News Agency that Dare Not be Named on Sunday he expects the pastor’s acquittal, arguing that the "weak" indictment lacked sufficient evidence to make the case hold up in court.
American officials have repeatedly requested that Brunson be released ‐ President Donald Trump
...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States...
himself asked
... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him. It's a sin, a shame, and a felony to insult the president of Turkey...to have his government "expeditiously" return the pastor to the U.S.
But Erdogan fired back at Washington, demanding that the U.S. first return Gulen.
"You give him to us and we’ll give you this one," he said, referring to Brunson.