WASHINGTON, DC – IDC congratulates the Trump Administration on obtaining the release of Pastor Andrew Brunson, a United States citizen who has been unjustly imprisoned in Turkey for two years on false charges.
IDC worked closely with bi-partisan Congressional human rights and international religious freedom leaders, holding Capitol Hill Briefings in the House and Senate, to pressure Turkey to improve their human rights record which has deteriorated significantly in recent years.
After these events, IDC experienced the bullying tactics of Turkey through two cyber-attacks on our website.
This sets an important precedent that the U.S. will not sit idly by and let an ally violate fundamental human rights.
The costs applied to Turkey through sanctions and economic pressure should stand as a warning to the world and to Turkey itself as they continue to violate rights for their indigenous Christian community, deny the Armenian Genocide, imprison NASA physicist Serkan Golge and many other journalists and activists.
We celebrate with Pastor Brunson and his family on this day when justice finally prevailed in his case.