The EPC has received information from a reliable source that every signature on the EPC’s #ForgottenAmericanInTurkey petition is reaching a “central register” in the White House. There have been concerns that signatures were not being tallied since the counter on the petition website has remained at “1 Signed” since it launched on February 6. The same individual reported that the White House petition system is receiving higher traffic than it has experienced in the past, which is “overwhelming the register.”
Andrew Brunson
The petition is an effort to bring EPC teaching elder Andrew Brunson’s plight in Turkey to the attention of the White House and President Donald Trump.
Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan talked for a reported 45 minutes by telephone on February 7. As of February 10, there has been no confirmation that the two leaders discussed anything related to Brunson’s imprisonment.
The petition is available at https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/forgotten-american-turkey. In addition, citizens can contact the White House at www.whitehouse.gov/contact – page and are encouraged to share the link to the petition among their social media networks.
Brunson was arrested in October 2016 and falsely charged with “membership in an armed terrorist organization” in December. He has been held for more than four months despite the charging documents presenting no evidence against him.