Lawyer for US pastor Brunson appeals to Constitutional Court

The lawyer for US evangelical pastor Andrew Brunson said he filed an appeal on Wednesday to Turkey’s Constitutional Court for his client’s release from house arrest. The next regular court hearing will be on October 12. The case of Andrew Brunson has become the most divisive issue in a worsening diplomatic row between Ankara and Washington, and has triggered US sanctions and tariffs against Turkey. The filing to the Constitutional Court – Turkey’s highest – showed the lawyer had requested the court to rule that Brunson’s right to freedom had been violated and to release him from house arrest, Reuters reports. Brunson is charged with links to Kurdish militants and supporters of Fethullah Gulen, the cleric blamed by Turkey for a failed coup attempt in 2016. He has denied the accusation – as has Gulen. Washington has demanded his immediate release.