[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 169 (Thursday, October 11, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Page S6790]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



            Calling for the Release of Pastor Andrew Brunson

  Mr. TILLIS. Mr. President, I am here for what I hope will be the last 
time to talk about a subject I have come to the floor and discussed 
virtually every week we have been here since I went and visited a man 
who has been in a Turkish prison since October 7, 2016.
  His name is Andrew Brunson. He is a Presbyterian minister from North 
Carolina who, in 2016, under emergency orders in Turkey, President 
Erdogan ended up ordering the arrest of a number of people, many of 
whom I think were probably involved in the illegal coup attempt.
  To the extent that evidence demonstrates they were, they should be 
held accountable for their actions, but, unfortunately, thousands of 
people--journalists, people of faith, and a number of other people who 
were in the wrong place at the wrong time, like a NASA scientist who 
already spent 2\1/2\ years in prison--were also arrested. They were 
also put in prison.
  In the case of Pastor Brunson, he spent almost 17 months in a Turkish 
prison, in a cell designed for 8 people that had 21 people in it. None 
of the others were even English-speaking. Then, about 17 months into 
it, he had an indictment against him. It was about a 70-page document. 
It is a document I have read. Quite honestly, I don't think a first-
year law student or a magistrate anywhere would consider the 
allegations in this indictment as worthy of any prosecution--certainly 
not enough to keep somebody in our U.S. justice system in prison 
overnight, let alone now 734 days.
  The 2-year anniversary was just on Sunday. I called Pastor Brunson 
Sunday morning to speak with him, to see how he is doing and how his 
wife Noreen is doing. Noreen has been in the country the whole time 
because she is afraid that if she leaves the country, they will not let 
her come back.
  After the last hearing, the Turkish officials allowed Pastor Brunson 
to be placed under house arrest. He can't leave his house. He has an 
electric monitor, but the fact is, he is still incarcerated. He is 
still worried about the very real possibility that he could be 
convicted for up to 35 years in prison.
  The reason I hope this is the last speech I have to give is, tomorrow 
is what many of us believe may be the last time that he is in a 
courtroom. I hope President Erdogan and their justice system find 
justice for Pastor Brunson. What that justice looks like to me, 
regardless of whatever conclusion the Turkish courts draw--innocence or 
guilt--is that they simply complete the judicial process in Turkey and 
return Pastor Brunson and his wife Noreen back to the United States, 
most likely back to Western North Carolina.
  I visited Pastor Brunson in a Turkish prison about 6 months ago, 
after I heard he was concerned that once the indictment was issued 
against him, the American people would read that indictment and just 
forget about him. It was important for me to go to Turkey, to go to 
that Turkish prison just outside of Izmir, Turkey--one of the major 
cities in Turkey--and look him eye to eye and say: I will never forget 
you.
  Since that meeting, and after that meeting in prison, we had some 70 
Members of the U.S. Senate from both sides of the aisle sign on to a 
letter to send a very clear message to Pastor Brunson that we are not 
going to forget him and also a very clear message to Turkey that there 
will be a consequence if we have a miscarriage of justice in this case.
  I went back to the Turkish courtroom almost 2 months after I met him 
in prison, and I saw firsthand how the Turkish justice system works. It 
is not like ours, which is largely devoid of any political influence or 
what I view as completely devoid of political influence. The President 
can't call a judge and tell them to put their thumb on the scale of 
justice here in the United States, but sometimes it looks that way in 
Turkey.
  I am asking President Erdogan, the Turkish judiciary, the Foreign 
Ministers, and the others I have spoken with over the past several 
months: Please, let's have justice for Pastor Brunson. Regardless of 
what the outcome is tomorrow in the courts, get him home. I hope that 
happens tomorrow or early next week.
  If, on the other hand, his hearing is continued again or he is found 
guilty and is likely to be sentenced to 35 years, I will have to take a 
different tack--a tack very similar to what we took in putting a 
provision in the National Defense Authorization Act, really questioning 
our long-term relationship with Turkey in terms of sharing technology 
with the Joint Strike Fighter. When we went through that process, we 
identified a number of other measures where I believe we can get strong 
support in the House and Senate that would take our relationship with 
Turkey in the wrong direction.
  I want Turkey to be a strong NATO ally. I want Turkey to be a strong 
trading partner. I want the Turkish people to have a vibrant economy, 
but at the end of the day, I will have to be motivated to convince the 
Members of Congress and the President, who has been very helpful to 
this point, and Secretary of State Pompeo that absent a just outcome 
for Pastor Brunson, we will have to take a look at how we can continue 
to fight for justice. I sincerely hope I will never have to go down 
that path.
  Over the next 24 hours, Pastor Brunson is scheduled to be in a 
courtroom--within about the next 16 hours. I hope the American people 
will keep him in their prayers. I hope the Turkish people and the 
Turkish leadership will do the right thing--and the right thing is 
having Pastor Brunson and Noreen come home.
  Thank you.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Arizona.