United States Announced Sanctions Against Top Turkish Officials

The United States announced sanctions against Turkey’s Minister of Justice Abdulhamit Gul and Minister of Interior Suleyman Soylu. The sanctions became a new step of increasingly tense relations between Washington and Ankara, two NATO allies.

The two ministers played key roles in the arrest and detention of US citizen Pastor Andrew Brunson. The sanctions block property of Turkish officials in the US and prohibit US citizens from engaging in transactions with them.

The United States will impose large sanctions on Turkey for their long time detainment of Pastor Andrew Brunson, a great Christian, family man and wonderful human being. He is suffering greatly. This innocent man of faith should be released immediately!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 26, 2018

Andrew Brunson has been living in Turkey for about 20 years. In 2016, after the unsuccessful military coup in Turkey, Pastor Brunson was accused of aiding terrorist organizations and military espionage. He was expected to be released in July 2018, but the Turkish government decided to keep him imprisoned.