Political Quotes

“Mr. President, sadly, I have to do a speech that I promised I would do every week until we find justice for someone who has been in a Turkish prison now for a number of days. This is Pastor Brunson. He is a Presbyterian minister from Black Mountain. He has been in Turkey for 20 years, doing missionary work for a small church that I will describe briefly later. On October 4, 2016, he was swept up in President Erdogan's regime's reaction to an unlawful coup--a coup that I disagree with. I believe in a peaceful transition of power, and I do believe that people who are responsible for it should be subject to Turkish laws. But the roundup of people by President Erdogan--he cast a very wide net--went so far beyond any reasonable expectation of people who could have been involved in the coup attempt. On October 4, 2016, a Presbyterian minister from Black Mountain, NC--the same church that Billy Graham was a part of--found himself arrested on charges for being a potential terrorist and plotting a coup. He is in a Turkish prison. He has been in that prison now for 593 days--593 days, almost 17 months--without charges. He is held in a prison cell that is designed for 8 people but has 21 people in it. He is not really allowed to speak with his family.…”