In early October, American pastor Andrew Brunson thanked everyone for advocating and praying for him as he began his second year as a prisoner in Turkey.
Charges against him include spying, and recently Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan confirmed publicly that Brunson is being held as a political hostage.
Brunson is one of an estimated 50,000 ‘suspected’ public servants, academics, journalists and rights activists jailed in a 15-month crackdown by Turkey in its attempt to identify and punish the so-called Fethullah Terror Organisation (FETO) it accuses of infiltrating the country’s armed forces and government. President Erdoğan hopes the US will extradite exiled Muslim cleric Fethullah Gülen, who is accused of orchestrating the attempted coup, in exchange for Brunson.
