Norine Brunson arrives at Aliaga Prison and Courthouse complex in Izmir, Turkey, on May 7, 2018. REUTERS / Osman Orsal
Following testimony in the second phase of Andrew Brunson’s trial on May 7 in Turkey, the court ruled to keep the EPC Teaching Elder jailed until at least the next hearing, scheduled for July 18. The date is 24 days after Turkey’s snap presidential elections, which were called in April by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for June 24—17 months ahead of their original date of November 2019.
Multiple media outlets reported that a secret witness testified anonymously against Brunson, claiming that he assisted militants with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and aimed to create a Christian Kurdish state. The witness spoke via video link with a disguised face and voice.
Brunson denied the accusations, insisting that he never permitted “politics to enter the church. I am helping Syrian refugees, they say that I am aiding the PKK. I am setting up a church, they say I got help from Gülen’s network.”
He has repeatedly denied the prosecutor’s charges that he was involved with terrorism and espionage, and again proclaimed his innocence to the court on May 7.
“My service that I have spent my life on, has now turned upside down,” Brunson said. “I was never ashamed to be a server of Jesus, but these claims are shameful and disgusting.”
Brunson’s lawyer, Ismail Cem Halavurt, said that in Turkey, “if there’s an investigation that lacks evidence, it’s kind of the custom now to fortify the case with secret witnesses that have no credibility, no link to reality.”
Jeff Jeremiah, EPC Stated Clerk, said at least one individual who was present in the courtroom described the hearing afterward as “unfair.”
“I heard from someone who was there that Andrew presented a great defense, and his lawyer made a passionate plea for his release,” Jeremiah said. “Sadly, the judge returned Andrew to prison, which means this unjust and inhuman treatment continues. While this is not the result we had hoped, prayed, and fasted for, we continue to trust that the Lord Jesus Christ will be Andrew and Norine’s strength and shield.”