The İzmir 3rd High Criminal Court on Friday rejected an appeal to release American Christian pastor Andrew Brunson from house arrest, Reuters reported.

Brunson’s previous appeal to the 2nd High Criminal Court was also rejected on Tuesday.

Brunson, an evangelical pastor residing in the coastal province of İzmir, is standing trial in Turkey over terrorism charges. His case now lies at the heart of a diplomatic crisis between Turkey and the United States that has prompted a crash of Turkey’s lira currency.

The lira, which has lost some 40 percent of its value this year, weakened beyond 6.21 against the US dollar after the news, from 6.04 beforehand.

“Turkey has taken advantage of the United States for many years. They are now holding our wonderful Christian Pastor, who I must now ask to represent our Country as a great patriot hostage. We will pay nothing for the release of an innocent man, but we are cutting back on Turkey!” US President Donald Trump tweeted on Thursday.

The US had previously imposed sanctions on Turkey’s justice and interior ministers over the Brunson case. </s> American Pastor Andrew Brunson, who is under house arrest in Turkey, will have to wait until the court makes a decision on Oct. 12 to find out if he will be freed, the country's president said Tuesday.

"This is a judiciary matter. Brunson has been detained on terrorism charges ... On Oct. 12 there will be another hearing and we don't know what the court will decide and politicians will have no say on the verdict," President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Reuters late Tuesday.

Brunson, who is facing 35 years in prison on controversial charges of espionage and terrorism, was remanded to house arrest and banned from leaving the country as an appeal for his release was rejected by the Third High Criminal Court in Izmir last month.

According to the indictment against Brunson that was highlighted by Bloomberg Businessweek, the pastor is accused of conspiring with others to coordinate a group of malefactors that included evangelicals, Mormons, members of the Muslim Fethullah Gulen faith group (designated as terrorists by Ankara after Turkey's failed 2016 military coup), the Kurdish-Marxist PKK terrorist organization, an Israeli, an Iranian, and current and former agents of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency to destabilize the country.

Brunson is a pastor from North Carolina who served as a church leader in Izmir for the past two decades.

The pastor's continued detention has intensified a diplomatic row between Turkey and the U.S., which recently imposed sanctions on two Turkish ministers and increased tariffs on Turkish steel and aluminum imports.

Turkey has retaliated with some $533 million in tariffs on some U.S. imports such as cars, tobacco and alcoholic drinks. Officials noted that they would also boycott U.S. electronic goods.

Despite the ongoing row over Brunson's arrest, which has been taken up as a cause by evangelicals, Erdogan says he cannot usurp the power of his country's courts.

"As the president, I don't have the right to order his release. Our judiciary is independent. Let's wait and see what the court will decide," Erdogan said.

Meanwhile, Turkish officials gave signals on Sunday that Brunson could be released next month, according to The Wall Street Journal.

"It's a possible outcome," an unidentified Turkish official said in the report.

U.S. officials also said that the Trump administration has also decided to ease off its pressure campaign to prevent fears over Turkey's economic difficulties from spreading to other emerging markets.

"The best strategy is, right before this October hearing, to be a little bit calm because they are recognizing finally now that we're willing to act," one U.S. official familiar with the debate told the Journal. "Come October, if we're in the same place, our side is going to unload on the Turks ... Right now it's a critical time where you don't want to put them in a bind."

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo confirmed that Brunson could be released in October but insisted that the pastor and other Americans detained in Turkey should never have been arrested.

"I'm sure there will be some conversations in furtherance of that this week," Pompeo said. "But make no mistake, there is nothing we will share with them here that we haven't shared with them already about President Trump's demands, that these innocent people who have truly done nothing wrong, cannot be detained wrongly." </s> A Turkish court again rejected an appeal to release American Christian pastor Andrew Brunson from house arrest, broadcaster Haberturk said on Friday.

Brunson, an Evangelical pastor residing in the coastal province of Izmir, is standing trial in Turkey over terrorism charges.

His case now lies at the heart of a diplomatic crisis between Turkey and the U.S. that has prompted a crash of Turkey’s lira currency.

The lira, which has lost some 40 per cent of its value this year, weakened beyond 6.21 against the U.S. dollar after the news, from 6.04 beforehand. </s> ALIAGA, Turkey — A Turkish court convicted an American pastor at the center of a Turkish-American diplomatic dispute of terror charges, but has released him from house arrest and allowed him to leave Turkey.

The court near the western city of Izmir on Friday sentenced Andrew Brunson to three years and one month in prison for the conviction, but since the evangelical pastor has already spent two years in detention, he won’t serve more time.

Brunson, 50, had rejected the espionage and terror-related charges and strongly maintained his innocence.

Lawyer Ismail Cem Halavurt said Brunson was expected to leave Turkey for the United States </s> A Turkish court has convicted an American pastor at the center of a Turkish-American diplomatic dispute of terror charges, but has released him from house arrest and allowed him to leave Turkey.

The court near the western city of Izmir on Friday sentenced Andrew Brunson to 3 years and 1 month in prison for the conviction, but since the evangelical pastor has already spent two years in detention he won't serve more time.

Brunson, 50, had rejected the espionage and terror-related charges and strongly maintained his innocence.

Lawyer Ismail Cem Halavurt said Brunson was expected to leave Turkey for the United States

Turkish soldiers stand guard outside the entrance to Aliaga Prison Court after American pastor Andrew Brunson arrived ahead of his court hearing on October 12, 2018 in Izmir, Turkey.

The pastor told the court he is "an innocent man. I love Jesus, I love Turkey."

The United States has repeatedly called for his release.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> Andrew Brunson, a Christian pastor from North Carolina, U.S. who has been in jail in Turkey since December 2016, is seen in this undated picture taken in Izmir, Turkey. Depo Photos via REUTERS

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - President Tayyip Erdogan said the United States should look at its own actions if it wants the return of an American Christian pastor who has been jailed in Turkey for suspected links to a 2016 failed coup.

Erdogan made the comment in a live interview with broadcaster NTV.

Andrew Brunson, who has lived in Turkey for more than two decades, was indicted on charges of helping the group that Ankara holds responsible for the failed coup against Erdogan. He faces up to 35 years in prison. Brunson denies the charges.

Erdogan has previously linked Brunson's fate to that of the cleric Fethullah Gulen, the Muslim cleric Turkey blames for the coup attempt. Gulen has lived in the United States since 1999 and denies the charges. Turkey is seeking his extradition from the United States.

U.S. President Donald Trump and dozens of U.S. senators have urged Erdogan to release Brunson. </s> The White House is announcing that the Treasury Department is imposing sanctions on two Turkish officials over a detained American pastor who is being tried on espionage and terror-related charges.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders says the Trump administration would sanction Turkey's minister of justice and minister of interior over the holding of 50-year-old Andrew Craig Brunson.

The administration says Turkey's Minister of Justice Abdulhamit Gul and Minister of Interior Suleyman Soylu both played leading roles in the organisations responsible for Brunson's arrest and detention.

Andrew Brunson, who led a Protestant church in the Aegean city of Izmir, is at the centre of one of the most bitter diplomatic spats between the NATO allies in years that risks escalating further.

Brunson was last week put under house arrest after nearly two years in jail. But the crisis has since escalated rather than being defused, with US officials furious he has not been allowed to leave Turkey.

Earlier on Wednesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his government won't back down and may "go its own way" if the US imposes sanctions.

"We will not give any credit to this type of threatening language," Erdogan told reporters in Ankara.

"It is not possible for us to accept that America gets up, especially with an evangelist, Zionist mentality, and uses this kind of threat-filled language," Erdogan added.

Erdogan's comments come after senior figures from Turkey's religious minorities issued a joint statement on Wednesday denying that there was pressure against their followers.

Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople, Turkey Armenian Deputy Patriarch Archbishop Aram Atesyan and Turkey's Chief Rabbi Ishak Haleva signed the declaration among other minority leaders, Hurriyet daily reported.

"We practise our faiths and worship according to our traditions freely," it said.

Vice President Mike Pence said last week that Brunson was "a victim of religious persecution" but Erdogan insisted that Turkey did not have the "slightest problem against religious minorities".

Both Pence and Brunson are evangelical Christians. Brunson's Izmir church is affiliated to the Orlando-based Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC).

Brunson faces up to 35 years in jail if convicted on charges of acting on behalf of two groups deemed by Turkey to be terrorists - the movement led by US-based Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen who Ankara says was behind the 2016 coup bid and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

He is also accused of espionage for political or military purposes. Brunson rejects all the claims against him while US officials insist he is innocent of all the charges.

A court on Tuesday rejected a petition filed by Brunson's lawyer asking for his client to be freed. The next hearing in his case is on October 12. </s> The Latest: Turkish minister shrugs off sanctions for pastor

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on an American pastor detained in Turkey (all times local):

Turkey's justice minister has shrugged off a U.S. decision to impose sanctions against him and another Turkish government minister, saying he doesn't have a penny to his name anywhere outside Turkey.

The U.S. announced sanctions against Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul and Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu over the detention of American pastor Andrew Craig Brunson, who is being tried on espionage and terror-related charges. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders says the ministers' agencies were responsible for the pastor's arrest and detention.

Gul took to Twitter on Wednesday to say that he had no assets outside Turkey and that he dreamt of owning "a small olive grove" in his Turkish hometown.

Meanwhile, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu tweeted: "The U.S. attempt to impose sanctions will not remain without an answer."

Turkey is calling on the United States to reverse its decision to sanction two Turkish government ministers over a detained American pastor and is threatening to retaliate "without delay."

A Foreign Ministry statement issued Wednesday said Turkey "strongly protests" the U.S. Treasury's decision to impose sanctions against Turkey's justice and interior ministers. It said Turkey would "respond in kind without delay" against what it described as an aggressive stance by the United States.

President Donald Trump had warned last week that he might impose sanctions against Turkey for its treatment of Andrew Craig Brunson, who is under arrest in Turkey and accused of espionage and aiding terror groups.

The ministry called the sanctions a "disrespectful intervention in our legal system" that would harm "the constructive efforts toward resolving problems between the two countries."

The White House is announcing that the Treasury Department is imposing sanctions on two Turkish officials over a detained American pastor who is being tried on espionage and terror-related charges.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders says the Trump administration will sanction Turkey's minister of justice and minister of interior over the holding of 50-year-old Andrew Craig Brunson.

The administration says Turkey's Minister of Justice Abdulhamit Gul and Minister of Interior Suleyman Soylu both played leading roles in the organizations responsible for Brunson's arrest and detention.

Brunson, an evangelical pastor, was arrested in December 2016 and jailed. He was recently released to home detention.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (REH'-jehp TY'-ihp UR'-doh-wahn) has said his government won't back down and may "go its own way" if the U.S. imposes sanctions. </s> Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan told Reuters in an interview that the Turkish court, not politicians, will decide the fate of an American pastor whose detention on terrorism charges has hit relations between Ankara and Washington.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Monday he was hopeful Turkey would release evangelical pastor Andrew Brunson this month. The preacher was moved to house arrest in July after being detained for 21 months.

In an interview with Reuters late on Tuesday while he was in New York for the United Nations General Assembly meetings, Erdoğan said any decision on Brunson would be made by the court.

“This is a judicial matter. Brunson has been detained on terrorism charges … There will be another hearing on Oct. 12, and we don’t know what the court will decide, and politicians will have no say in the verdict,” Erdoğan said.

If found guilty, Brunson could be jailed for up to 35 years. He denies the charges.

“As president, I don’t have the right to order his release. Our judiciary is independent. Let’s wait and see what the court will decide,” Erdoğan said.

US President Donald Trump, infuriated by Brunson’s detention, authorized a doubling of duties on aluminum and steel imported from Turkey in August. Turkey retaliated by increasing tariffs on US cars, alcohol and tobacco imports.

The Turkish lira has lost nearly 40 percent of its value against the dollar this year on concerns over Erdoğan’s grip on monetary policy and the diplomatic dispute between Ankara and Washington.

“The Brunson case is not even closely related to Turkey’s economy. The current economic challenges have been exaggerated more than necessary, and Turkey will overcome these challenges with its own resources,” Erdoğan said.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan says that a Turkish court will decide the fate of American pastor Andrew Brunson.