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TEHRAN, July 25 - A Turkish court ruled on Wednesday that an American pastor be transferred from jail to house arrest, his lawyer said, after nearly two years in detention on terrorism charges in a case which has strained ties between Ankara and Washington.
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) - Andrew Brunson, a Christian pastor from North Carolina who has worked in Turkey for more than 20 years, was detained in October 2016 and indicted on charges of helping the group which Ankara says was behind a failed military coup earlier that year.
Brunson's lawyer Ismail Cem Halavurt confirmed Turkish media reports that the court had ruled for him to be moved to house arrest. He will have to wear an electronic ankle bracelet and is banned from leaving the country, Halavurt said.
A week ago the same court rejected a call by Brunson's defense for his release. State-owned Anadolu news agency said the court decided, after re-evaluating the case, that he could leave prison on health grounds and because he would be under effective judicial control.
It said Brunson's defense had been completed and evidence for the case was almost all collected.
Brunson's detention deepened a rift between NATO allies Washington and Ankara - also at odds over the Syrian war and Turkey's plan to buy missile defenses from Russia - and financial markets took his transfer order as a positive sign.
The Turkish lira strengthened to 4.8325 against the dollar from 4.8599 before the report. Shares in Halkbank, whose former deputy general manager was convicted in January of evading U.S. sanctions on Iran, jumped 12 percent.
Brunson was indicted on charges of helping supporters of Fethullah Gulen, the U.S.-based opposition who Turkish authorities say masterminded the coup attempt against President Tayyip Erdogan in which 250 people were killed. He was also charged with supporting outlawed PKK Kurdish militants.
Source: Reuters
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