WEB DESK
A Turkish court has ordered the release of a US pastor who was under house arrest on accusations of being involved in an attempted military coup.
Andrew Brunson was arrested and charged over alleged links to the Turkish military’s failed coup in 2016.
A court in the western Turkish city of Izmir on Friday sentenced Brunson up to 3 years and one month in prison.
But the court said the pastor would not serve any further time as he has already spent 2 years in detention.
Brunson’s arrest has been at the center of strained relations between Ankara and Washington.
In August, US President Donald Trump’s administration doubled steel and aluminum tariffs on Turkish imports. Turkey retaliated with its own tariffs on US products.
The US move led to the nosedive of the Turkish lira and caused the decline of other currencies in emerging economies, as well as a fall of global stocks.
Trump had said he would impose additional sanctions against Turkey unless the pastor is released.
Trump tweeted on Friday following the Turkish court’s ruling that his administration is “working very hard” on the Brunson case.