Lawyer for US pastor Brunson to appeal to Turkey’s Constitutional Court

A lawyer for the American Christian pastor who is on trial for terrorism charges in Turkey said on Wednesday that he is planning to appeal to the Constitutional Court to seek Andrew Brunson’s release. The appeal was rejected by a lower court last week. “Once the upper court’s rejection has been confirmed in writing, we will apply to the Constitutional Court,” lawyer Ismail Cem Halavurt said in comments reported by Hurriyet daily and confirmed by Reuters. Once domestic legal avenues have been exhausted, the defense would if necessary apply to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), he said. The court in Izmir province which last week rejected the appeal said evidence was still being collected and the pastor posed a flight risk, according to a copy of the court ruling. Brunson is at the center of a row between Ankara and Washington, which has exacerbated a crisis with Turkey’s lira that has reverberated across global markets.