Brunson ordeal prompts U.S. sanctions on Turkey

President Donald Trump said Thursday the United States would impose sanctions on Turkey for the ongoing detainment of American Pastor Andrew Brunson. A Turkish judge released Brunson Wednesday from prison but placed him under house arrest, citing unspecified health concerns for the pastor, who still faces charges of espionage and cannot leave the country. Vice President Mike Pence first announced the potential sanctions Thursday morning at the close of a conference on international religious freedom in Washington, D.C. “Brunson is an innocent man, there is no credible evidence against him,” Pence said. Trump has repeatedly demanded Brunson’s release and said on Twitter last week that the pastor’s detention was “a total disgrace.” On Monday, Congress voted to temporarily bar deliveries of about 100 F-35 Joint Strike Fighters to Turkey, demanding in the bill Brunson’s release and citing the increasingly tense U.S.-Turkey relationship. Turkish authorities have held Brunson since his arrest in October 2016.