US welcomes Turkish court ruling on Brunson

By Safvan Allahverdi

WASHINGTON (AA) - Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday welcomed the decision by a Turkish court to place a jailed American pastor under house arrest.

"We welcome long overdue news that Pastor [Andrew Craig] Brunson has been moved from prison to house arrest in Turkey," Pompeo said in a tweet.

Brunson was arrested in the Aegean province of Izmir in December 2016 and charged with spying for the PKK terror group and the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group Turkey accuses of being behind the defeated coup attempt of July 2016.

The Izmir 2nd High Criminal Court cited Brunson's "health problems" for its decision.

Pompeo, however, described the court’s decision as "not enough", claiming there is "no credible evidence" against the pastor.

"[We] call on Turkish authorities to resolve his case immediately in a transparent and fair manner," he added.

The court decided to allow Brunson to live at his address in Izmir, but barred him from "abandonment of residence" and also imposed a ban on him leaving the country.

After the decision, the cleric left prison with a police escort after completing certain procedures.

Extensive security measures have been taken at the Brunson residence.