Andrew Brunson
Jacqueline Furnari, daughter of Andrew Brunson, will address the U.S. Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCU) on Wednesday, November 15, in a hearing entitled “Prisoners of the Purge: The Victims of Turkey’s Failing Rule of Law.” The CSCU also is known as the U.S. Helsinki Commission, and is an independent agency of the Federal Government. Brunson is an EPC teaching elder, arrested in Turkey in October 2016 and subsequently held on charges of espionage and terrorism.
The hearing will be held at 9:30 a.m. in Room 124 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C., and will be webcast live at www.senate.gov/isvp/?type=live&comm=csce&filename=csce111517
“The efforts of the U.S. government to win the release of Andrew Brunson continues,” said Jeff Jeremiah, EPC Stated Clerk. “Vice President Pence met with Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim at the White House last week to discuss a number of issues between the two countries—including Andrew.”
Other panelists in Wednesday’s hearing are Jonathan R. Cohen, Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs of the U.S. Department of State; CeCe Heil, Executive Counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice; and Nate Schenkkan, Director of the Nations in Transit Project at the Freedom House, an independent watchdog organization dedicated to the expansion of freedom and democracy around the world.
The hearing will examine the factors contributing to the detention of American citizens, particularly Andrew and U.S. consulate employees in Turkey, as well as the judicial processes to which they have been subject. Furnari and Heil will testify about Andrew’s ongoing detention. Witnesses will also discuss the impact of these arrests on U.S.-Turkey relations and policy recommendations that could help secure their release.
The Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe is responsible for monitoring compliance with the Helsinki Accords and advancing comprehensive security through promotion of human rights, democracy, and economic, environmental, and military cooperation in 57 countries. The Commission consists of nine members from the U.S. Senate, nine from the House of Representatives, and one member each from the Departments of State, Defense, and Commerce.
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