Turkey will put Christian Pastor on Trial
This news item was sent to me from a Christian missionary.....I learned a lot about the clandestine mission of the FETO, by reading the article. World Watch Monitor
“Andrew Brunson is an innocent person,” Tufan told World Watch Monitor today (21 March). “The indictment does not contain any real evidence. There is no real legal proof to use against him.
I join Christians in prayer for the release of Pastor Andrew Brunson*. https://beheardproject.com/andrew-brunson
From his prison cell in Izmir, Brunson recently wrote: “Let it be clear. I am in prison not for anything I have done wrong, but because of who I am – a Christian pastor.
Turkey: date set for trial of US pastor Andrew Brunson
Imprisoned US pastor Andrew Brunson is set to stand trial before a Turkish criminal court on 16 April on espionage- and terrorism-related charges that could jail him for up to 35 years.
The Turkish indictment accuses Brunson of links with both of Turkey’s most prominent terrorist organisations: the
FETO** network of Islamic cleric Fethullah Gülen, accused of orchestrating the July 2016 attempted coup; and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), leading a 35-year armed separatist struggle against the Turkish state.
The accusations against the pastor rest heavily on the testimony of several “secret” witnesses interrogated by the prosecution.
The accusations against the pastor rest heavily on the testimony of several “secret” witnesses interrogated by the prosecution.
Seventeen months after the pastor’s arrest in the port city of Izmir, a formal indictment accepted by the Izmir 2nd Criminal Court has been released to Brunson and his lawyer – but only after the 62-page document was leaked illegally to the Turkish media.
According to Brunson’s lawyer, Ismail Cem Halavurt, “the leaking of the indictment before the parties have seen it amounts to a violation of confidentiality”.
Halavurt now has less than a month, before the trial hearings open, to examine the prosecution’s legal file of its investigations. As alleged evidence supporting the indictment’s claims against his client, the entire set of documents has been kept sealed until now.
The Turkish indictment accuses Brunson of links with both of Turkey’s most prominent terrorist organisations: the FETO network of Islamic cleric Fethullah Gülen, accused of orchestrating the July 2016 attempted coup; and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), leading a 35-year armed separatist struggle against the Turkish state.
The accusations against the pastor rest heavily on the testimony of several “secret” witnesses interrogated by the prosecution. One witness claimed Brunson had met frequently with a local leader of the FETO network; under prosecution questioning, the pastor denied knowing or ever meeting the named individual, and said he had never “knowingly or willingly” met with any FETO member.
Last June, spokesman Soner Tufan of the Association of Protestant Churches in Turkey challenged the vague accusations against Brunson appearing in the pro-government press, saying: “Let the law proceed. Put forth the evidence, if you have any, and start the trial as soon as possible. Justice is all we want.”
Once Brunson’s indictment was made public last week, Tufan commented in an Al-Monitor interview: “This is an eclipse of reason. To claim that Andrew was a FETO executive and sought to destroy this country is like an insult and offense to reason. Who would believe such a thing? He has spent an important part of his life trying to stay in this country, telling about Jesus in all his sermons and works. How could such a person be the member or the executive of an Islamic order?”
“Andrew Brunson is an innocent person,” Tufan told World Watch Monitor today (21 March). “The indictment does not contain any real evidence. There is no real legal proof to use against him. It is a very political hostage case. That is why [the Turkish authorities] had to demand the worst punishment against him, to make him more valuable.”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan declared openly last September that he was willing to exchange Brunson for Fethullah Gülen, the Turkish Muslim cleric living in exile in the US, who is accused by Ankara of masterminding the failed coup. This January, Erdoğan went on to state that he would refuse to extradite any jailed “suspects” to the United States until Washington hands over Gülen.
From his prison cell in Izmir, Brunson recently wrote: “Let it be clear. I am in prison not for anything I have done wrong, but because of who I am – a Christian pastor. I desperately miss my wife and children. Yet I believe this to be true: it is an honour to suffer for Jesus Christ, as many have before me. My deepest thanks for all those around the world who are standing with me and praying for me.”
According to Brunson’s lawyer, Ismail Cem Halavurt, “the leaking of the indictment before the parties have seen it amounts to a violation of confidentiality”.
Halavurt now has less than a month, before the trial hearings open, to examine the prosecution’s legal file of its investigations. As alleged evidence supporting the indictment’s claims against his client, the entire set of documents has been kept sealed until now.
The Turkish indictment accuses Brunson of links with both of Turkey’s most prominent terrorist organisations: the FETO network of Islamic cleric Fethullah Gülen, accused of orchestrating the July 2016 attempted coup; and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), leading a 35-year armed separatist struggle against the Turkish state.
The accusations against the pastor rest heavily on the testimony of several “secret” witnesses interrogated by the prosecution. One witness claimed Brunson had met frequently with a local leader of the FETO network; under prosecution questioning, the pastor denied knowing or ever meeting the named individual, and said he had never “knowingly or willingly” met with any FETO member.
Last June, spokesman Soner Tufan of the Association of Protestant Churches in Turkey challenged the vague accusations against Brunson appearing in the pro-government press, saying: “Let the law proceed. Put forth the evidence, if you have any, and start the trial as soon as possible. Justice is all we want.”
Once Brunson’s indictment was made public last week, Tufan commented in an Al-Monitor interview: “This is an eclipse of reason. To claim that Andrew was a FETO executive and sought to destroy this country is like an insult and offense to reason. Who would believe such a thing? He has spent an important part of his life trying to stay in this country, telling about Jesus in all his sermons and works. How could such a person be the member or the executive of an Islamic order?”
“Andrew Brunson is an innocent person,” Tufan told World Watch Monitor today (21 March). “The indictment does not contain any real evidence. There is no real legal proof to use against him. It is a very political hostage case. That is why [the Turkish authorities] had to demand the worst punishment against him, to make him more valuable.”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan declared openly last September that he was willing to exchange Brunson for Fethullah Gülen, the Turkish Muslim cleric living in exile in the US, who is accused by Ankara of masterminding the failed coup. This January, Erdoğan went on to state that he would refuse to extradite any jailed “suspects” to the United States until Washington hands over Gülen.
From his prison cell in Izmir, Brunson recently wrote: “Let it be clear. I am in prison not for anything I have done wrong, but because of who I am – a Christian pastor. I desperately miss my wife and children. Yet I believe this to be true: it is an honour to suffer for Jesus Christ, as many have before me. My deepest thanks for all those around the world who are standing with me and praying for me.”
*Andrew Brunson ~ American Christian Pastor imprisoned in Turkey because he is a Christian
**FETO ~ Fethullah Terror Organisation is the name of a terrorist group which is probably the most sophisticated and large scale one among terrorist groups around the world. They have Turkish origins, but followers and sympathizers from other nations, as well.
Some (actually most) of their followers don’t even realize that the group is a terrorist organization. This may sound ridiculous, but let me explain. The group has two separate structures, they are like two sides of a coin. One of these two structures is quite like an NGO, as a matter of fact, more like a web of NGOs that spread around the globe. Their members, or volunteers, are regular people, most of them are religious, believers of Islam, but even that is not a necessity, one may just be influenced from an NGO just because of the cause it represents, not because of the religion. Most of these NGOs are in education business, some are think-tanks, trade associations, or anything like these. Through their network around the globe, they do make every effort to raise money, both via businesses they have, and via direct donations from their followers. (The donations are mostly voluntary, although they pressure their followers via social means, for example, one becomes more respectful within the network if they donate more money.)
**FETO ~ Fethullah Terror Organisation is the name of a terrorist group which is probably the most sophisticated and large scale one among terrorist groups around the world. They have Turkish origins, but followers and sympathizers from other nations, as well.
Some (actually most) of their followers don’t even realize that the group is a terrorist organization. This may sound ridiculous, but let me explain. The group has two separate structures, they are like two sides of a coin. One of these two structures is quite like an NGO, as a matter of fact, more like a web of NGOs that spread around the globe. Their members, or volunteers, are regular people, most of them are religious, believers of Islam, but even that is not a necessity, one may just be influenced from an NGO just because of the cause it represents, not because of the religion. Most of these NGOs are in education business, some are think-tanks, trade associations, or anything like these. Through their network around the globe, they do make every effort to raise money, both via businesses they have, and via direct donations from their followers. (The donations are mostly voluntary, although they pressure their followers via social means, for example, one becomes more respectful within the network if they donate more money.)
By using these legal structures, they try to get grants from governments as well.
Via their businesses in education, they were having the chance to pick successful students, and make them a loyal follower of Fethullah Gulen, the leader of the organisation. These successful students were having two careers. One in the group, the other one in the government organisations. The followers of the organisation, who were working in some government organisation, help these students had a job in government, and they got fast promoted to the positions that are effective in the government. As they progress in their position in the government, they progress in their position in the group. The government institution can be anything, finance, education, police force, military, judiciary, you name it.
Via their businesses in education, they were having the chance to pick successful students, and make them a loyal follower of Fethullah Gulen, the leader of the organisation. These successful students were having two careers. One in the group, the other one in the government organisations. The followers of the organisation, who were working in some government organisation, help these students had a job in government, and they got fast promoted to the positions that are effective in the government. As they progress in their position in the government, they progress in their position in the group. The government institution can be anything, finance, education, police force, military, judiciary, you name it.
Labels: Barbara G. Baker, FETO
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