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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Turkey court rejects another appeal to free US pastor

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ISTANBUL: A diplomatic row between Turkey and the United States took another turn for the worse on Friday as a Turkish court rejected an appeal for the release from house arrest of US pastor Andrew Brunson. A higher court in the Aegean province of Izmir rejected both the appeal for his release from house arrest and the lifting of a travel ban against him, according to the ruling.


On Wednesday, another court in Izmir had refused to release him and lift the travel ban, prompting his lawyer to file an appeal to the higher court for review.


Ismail Cem Halavurt, Brunson’s lawyer, had said before Friday’s ruling that he would continue the appeals’ process at various courts.


Brunson, who is being tried on espionage and terrorism-related charges, was detained in October 2016 and arrested in December that year in the aftermath of a failed coup.


He is accused of links to the movement of Fethullah Gulen, an cleric who lives in exile in the US.


Brunson is also accused of having ties to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly warned Turkey he would punish his Nato ally if Brunson was not released.


A row over his imprisonment has increased tensions between Ankara and Washington, among other issues.


The Nato allies have slapped sanctions on each other’s ministers, as well as tariffs on imports. The impasse has also triggered a currency crisis in Turkey. The US-Turkey relationship was already frayed by the war in Syria, Turkey’s decision to buy a Russian air defence system, the conviction in New York of a former employee of Turkish state lender Halkbank for violating US sanctions, and efforts to block the delivery of F-35 fighter jets to Turkey. — dpa


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