In a scathing tweet, as usual, US President Donald Trump called on Erdogan to release Pastor Andrew Branson from Turkish prisons.
"It is a shame for Turkey not to release a respected American Pastor, Andrew Branson, from prison. He has been held hostage for too long. Recep Tayyip Erdogan must do something to free this wonderful Christian husband and father. "He has done nothing wrong and his family needs him," Trump said on Twitter.
It is noted that a Turkish court refused just yesterday to release Pastor Branson. The issue of his release is one of the thorns in the Washington-Ankara relationship with the State Department referring to it on many occasions.
The 50-year-old pastor has been in Turkish prisons for two years as he is accused of being linked to Gulen and the failed July 2016 coup.