As international media continue to issue reports of Andrew Brunson’s trial in Turkey on April 16, U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted his support of the EPC Teaching Elder. The President’s message on social media, which was delivered on April 17, reads:

“Pastor Andrew Brunson, a fine gentleman and Christian leader in the United States, is on trial and being persecuted in Turkey for no reason. They call him a Spy, but I am more a Spy than he is. Hopefully he will be allowed to come home to his beautiful family where he belongs!”

On April 18, the Washington Post reported that the Trump administration warned Turkey that it is considering punitive “consequences” if Brunson is not freed.

Wess Mitchell, Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs at the U.S. State Department, said the State Department is consulting with Congress about “possible measures” if Brunson is not acquitted or released.

Andrew Brunson

Brunson is being tried on charges that he aided terror groups and committed espionage against Turkey, where he has lived since 1993. At the time of his arrest in October 2016, he had been serving as Pastor of Izmir Resurrection Church since he planted the congregation in 2010.

In an 30-minute video interview available on the Christian Broadcasting Network website, Aykan Erdemir—a former member of the Turkish parliament and now a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies in Washington, D.C.—said Brunson’s 18-month, pre-trial imprisonment “has become a sort of torture.”

“Right after the noon break when he came back and was defending himself, he had a mental breakdown. He sat down; it’s reported that he started crying and he told the judge how difficult it is to survive in this kind of isolation chamber,” Erdemir said.

Following more than 12 hours of testimony, the judge adjourned the hearing until May 7 and ordered Brunson returned to prison. The Wall Street Journal reported that as he was being escorted from the courtroom, Brunson turned to his wife and said, “I am going crazy here, I love you.”

Brunson was sent to the facility where he was held from December 2016 through August 2017, which is notorious for its overcrowding. As many as 22 inmates are held in cells designed for eight prisoners.

Brunson’s trial has garnered media coverage internationally, with outlets in such locations as Japan, Nigeria, and Singapore reporting on the situation.

EPC Stated Clerk Jeff Jeremiah encouraged people to share media reports of the trial among their social media networks.

“I want to keep Andrew’s situation in the public eye as much as possible,” Jeremiah said. “The entire world needs to know about Andrew, and both pray to the Lord and advocate to their leaders on Andrew’s behalf.”