Report: Turkish Court Rejects Appeal to Free Detai
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A fresh appeal to free U.S. pastor Andrew Brunson, whose continued detention has sparked a diplomatic spat between Turkey and the United States, was rejected Wednesday.
State television TRT reported the 2nd Penal Court in İzmir rejected the appeal on Aug. 15 and sent the defendant’s petition to an upper court. In the ruling it stipulated Brunson, who faces 35 years in jail over terror and espionage charges, will remain in detention.
Brunson, a native of North Carolina who had been preaching Christianity in Turkey for decades, was arrested back in 2016 under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s crackdown on dissidents following a failed military coup against him.