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[Page S5776]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
WELCOMING PASTOR ANDREW BRUNSON
Mr. TILLIS. Madam President and those who were watching during the
opening prayer, that was Pastor Andrew Brunson from North Carolina.
This month marks a year since Pastor Brunson was released from a
Turkish prison. Norine, his wife, is in the Gallery as well. They were
swept up in what I considered to be an overreaction by President
Erdogan and the Turkish regime in their imprisoning thousands of people
after the coup attempt in Turkey. I actually found out about this first
as casework. Pastor Brunson was from North Carolina. Then, slowly but
steadily, diplomacy wasn't working, and he found himself in a Turkish
prison--at one point in really what we would consider to be despicable
circumstances. He was in a prison cell that was designed for maybe 8 or
10 people that had had more than 20 in it, and none of them spoke the
English language.
Pastor Brunson was a missionary in Turkey for almost 20 years. He had
a church in Izmir, and all they tried to do for those who wanted to
hear the Word of God was to speak it. For that, he was ultimately
incarcerated and accused of being a part of the Turkish coup attempt.
It was about a year later that they issued an indictment for him. It
was a 62-page indictment that read like a horrible, fictional novel and
had some of the most absurd allegations you could possibly imagine.
Certainly, they were things that wouldn't keep you in jail overnight in
the United States but were things that were potentially going to have
Pastor Brunson convicted and spending 35 years in a Turkish prison.
We got word back that after the indictment was issued against Pastor
Brunson, he was afraid that the American people were going to believe
it, that we would simply move on, and that he would be left there at
the fate of the Turkish judiciary. When I heard that, the first thing I
told my staff is that I had to go to Turkey. I wanted to go to the
prison that Pastor Brunson was in, and I had the opportunity to meet
Norine, his wife, the day before. I went there, and across a table that
was about as wide as this desk, I told Pastor Brunson that we were not
going to forget him and were not going to stop until we got him
released from prison.
In a series of efforts here, for which I have to really compliment
all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, more than 72 Senators
signed on to a letter that encouraged Pastor Brunson's release. More
than 100 House Members signed on to a similar letter. We did everything
we could diplomatically to get Pastor Brunson released.
I decided I wanted to see how the court case was going, so I went
back to Turkey a few months after I had first met Pastor Brunson in the
prison, and I sat through 12 hours of so-called Turkish justice. I saw
this man stand before a dais of three judges and a prosecutor, where
basically you were assumed guilty until you proved innocence. His
defense attorney was as far away from him as is that wall. That is
Turkish justice. That is not anything we can imagine in this country,
but that is what this man was subjected to.
Over the course of several months and in working with the President,
Secretary Pompeo, the Vice President, and a number of other people, we
were able to get President Erdogan to recognize that this was a
political exercise, that it was not an exercise in justice, and that he
needed to be released.
A year ago this month, he was released, and now he is opening the
Senate in prayer. I thank Pastor Brunson for his perseverance. He went
through things that most of us cannot imagine, and Norine was his
strongest advocate.
I see the Parliamentarian looking at me as if I am not supposed to
recognize the fact that Norine Brunson is in the Gallery, so I will not
recognize that fact because that would be a violation of the rules.
They are a sight for sore eyes, and I am so glad to have them back in
this country. I know they are going to continue their missionary work
wherever they can. I thank them for their leadership and their deep
faith.
Thank you for opening the Senate today.
Madam President, I yield the floor.
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the
order for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
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