American Andrew Brunson, an evangelical pastor, is currently on trial for his alleged involvement in a terrorist plot to destabilize Turkey, reports Bloomberg Businessweek. And prosecutors allege that Kenneth Abney, a retired U.S. special forces major, conspired with Brunson to coordinate a group of malefactors that included evangelicals, Mormons, the Muslim Fethullah Gulen faith group, the Kurdish-Marxist PKK terrorist organization, an Israeli, an Iranian, and current and former agents of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency.
The Brunson case has become a focus of a dispute between Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the United States’s Donald Trump. President Trump imposed sanctions on Turkey last month because he believes Erdogan welched on a previous deal to release Brunson, reports Bloomberg. But even if the pastor is released, there is no reason to believe the tension between the countries will dissipate. Another group also faces increase threats of danger: Turkey’s Mormons, who play a surprisingly large role in the case’s complex alleged conspiracy.
Thanks for reading InsideHook. Sign up for our daily newsletter and be in the know.
