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Confronting Religious Persecution at the IRF Summit

Feb. 10Stories That Demand Action:

Last week I spoke on a panel at the International Religious Freedom (IRF) Summit in Washington, D.C.—a global gathering that brings together advocates, policymakers, and legal experts from around the world who are on the front lines of defending religious freedom. The Summit provides a rare forum to share firsthand experiences, expose ongoing...More

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Save Christians From Murder in Congo

Save Christians From Murder in...

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has once again become the site of unspeakable violence , with Christian communities being targeted by terrorists and militant forces. On February 15, over 70 Christians – primarily women, children, and the elderly – were added to the list of victims when they were abducted...More

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Andrew Brunson

In an outrageous miscarriage of justice, American Pastor Andrew Brunson’s trial just got a lot worse.

In a cruel show of abject hostility and blatant disregard for any semblance of the rule of law – proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that this trial is a completely and utter sham – the Turkish judges essentially threw out all the witnesses for Pastor Andrew’s defense.

We recently reported to you how over the course of 11 grueling hours, 7 witnesses for the prosecution (2 secret and 5 open – 2 of whom were prisoners and only 1 of whom had ever actually even met Pastor Andrew) were allowed to give testimony against him. When the Pastor’s Turkish attorney pointed out that one of these men had been convicted on 14 counts of fraud, the lead judge claimed he didn’t see how the fact was relevant. In fact, the judge said that all the prosecution witnesses’ statements would be taken as fact.

But when Pastor Andrew’s Turkish attorney then submitted his own list of witnesses for the defense, the head judge declared that anyone who was a suspect would not be allowed to testify. Even worse he disregarded the remaining witnesses for the pastor, stating that they wouldn't have anything relevant to say.

Essentially the message is they aren’t going to allow anyone to testify on Pastor Andrew’s behalf. This ruling can’t even be appealed until after it is put in writing– even more delays.

This isn’t justice. This is a sham, a show trial built on made up charges to imprison an American pastor because of his Christian faith.  In fact, this isn’t a trial at all.  It’s a hostage taking.

The judges then delayed the trial yet again – this time until July 18^th. That’s over 2 months away, while Pastor Andrew continues to languish in a prison in Turkey.

Pastor Andrew is being held as a political prisoner. He has been charged with  “Christianization.” He has committed no crime.

It’s an absolute outrage.

Turkey is playing political games with an innocent Christian pastor’s life. They’re dangling him while demanding the exchange of a Turkish cleric freely living in the United States.

Enough is enough.

We need the whole world to apply maximum pressure on Turkey – a supposed NATO ally. We told you how 66 U.S. Senators and 50 Members of the European Parliament sent letters to Turkey’s President demanding Pastor Andrew's freedom. President Trump has also called for his release, and recently tweeted he should be “allowed to come home to his beautiful family.” We must build on this momentum before it is too late.

We remain directly involved in his legal defense in Turkey. We continue to work aggressively in Congress, with the State Department, the White House, the European Parliament, and the European Council to fight for Pastor Andrew’s freedom. The U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has agreed to take his case and we are hopeful they too will find this is a gross violation of his human rights.

This sham trial must end and he must be set free. Please join with over half a million supporters and sign the petition demanding his freedom.

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Signatures

Thibault van den Bossche  //

Dec 03, 2025

Pope Leo XIV’s visit to Turkey at the end of November marked the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, the first “ecumenical” council in Christian history. Behind the ceremonial receptions lies a harsh...

Jordan Sekulow  //

Dec 20, 2024

A Christian pastor of a home church, Mojtaba Ahmadi, faces being sent back to Iran, where he has already endured over 170 days of brutal torture for his faith in Christ. The ACLJ is advocating at the U.N. for...

CeCe Heil  //

Jun 12, 2020

Christians within India are increasingly becoming the target of brutal persecution. And at the ACLJ, we’ve witnessed first-hand the escalation in targeted persecution of these Christians. For seven months, we...