U.S. lawmakers call on Turkish president to release American pastor

At least 78 members of Congress have affixed their signatures to an open letter to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to call for the release of an American pastor who was jailed in Turkey under the accusation that he is a member of a terrorist organization.

Andrew Brunson and his wife, Norine, who had been living in Turkey for over 20 years, were initially detained in Izmir last October when they sought to renew their visas. Norine was released on Oct. 19, but Brunson remained in detention as he was accused of having links with the Fetullah Gulen Movement, which was blamed by the Turkish government for initiating the failed coup against Erdogan.

On Wednesday, leaders of the Senate Foreign Relations and House Foreign Affairs Committees sent a letter signed by members of the Congress calling on Erdogan to release the pastor, Christian News reported.

"There appears to be no evidence to substantiate the charges against him for membership in an armed terrorist organization. Moreover, your government has repeatedly denied regular and appropriate access to legal counsel and American consular services," the letter stated.

"Mr. Brunson's imprisonment has been raised repeatedly by U.S. government officials with officials of the government of Turkey. Unfortunately, high-level efforts to secure Mr. Brunson's release have been unsuccessful. We have closely followed developments with this case, and are deeply disappointed," it continued.

The letter was signed by Senate committee chairman Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Reps. Ed Royce (R-Calif.) and U.S. Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.). Other signatories include Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Rand Paul (R-Ky.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Chris Smith (R-N.J.).

According to the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), Brunson had been imprisoned for more than 125 days, and he spent Thanksgiving, Christmas and his birthday in a prison cell. His daughter had to postpone her wedding as she waits for her father to walk her down the aisle.

The ACLJ, through its European affiliate, the European Centre for Law & Justice (ECLJ), have submitted a written statement to the United Nations Human Rights Council (U.N. HRC) to ask for assistance to secure the pastor's release.

The organization also wrote a letter to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to call on President Donald Trump's administration to pressure Turkey to free the pastor. A petition launched by the ACLJ calling for Brunson's release has garnered over 211,000 signatures as of Monday.