Turkey’s president demands exchange of US pastor for Muslim cleric

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan suggested on Thursday that Turkey could free a detained American pastor Andrew Brunson, if the United States hands over a Muslim cleric living in Pennsylvania whom Turkishish leader blames for an attempted military coup in 2016.

Pastor Brunson has over arrest in Turkey since October 2016 and fugitive Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, who is a Turkishish citizen, has been living in Pennsylvania, USA for over a year now.

Reports say fugitive Gulen fled to the U.S. after the Turkish government accused him of spearheading a coup against Erdogan’s government, which took place in July 2016. The coup left no fewer than 250 persons dead.

Pastor Brunson, who was working in Turkey as a missionary, was detained in relation to the coup and accused of being a part of Gulen’s network.

“Give us the pastor back,’ they (the U.S.) say. You have one pastor as well. Give him (Gulen) to us,” Turkey's president said in a speech issued in the country's capital, Ankara. “Then we (Turkey) will try him (Brunson) and give him to you.”

“The pastor we have is on trial. Yours (Gulen) is not; he is living in Pennsylvania. You can give him easily. You can give him right away,” president Erdogan added.

American authorities have maintained that pastor Brunson has done nothing wrong and has been trying to get him released. It is not clear whether the Trump administration will respond to Turkey’s suggestion of a prisoner exchange.

Facts about predominantly Muslim Turkey

According to religiosity polls 99.8% of Turkey population are Muslims. The country is bordered by 8 countries namely: Greece and Bulgaria to the northwest; Georgia to the northeast; Armenia, the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan and Iran to the east; Iraq and Syria to the south.