Pastor Brunson’s release is a victory for the US and the broader cause of religious liberty

After roughly two years in prison, American citizen and pastor, Andrew Brunson, has finally been released from Turkish custody and will shortly be on his way back to the United States. This is great news for Pastor Brunson and his family, but it is also a significant win in the much larger fight for religious liberty around the world.

Pastor Brunson was first detained and formally arrested in July 2016 following the Turkish government’s imposition of a State of Emergency after a violent coup attempt in July 2016. The United States strongly condemned the coup attempt and has respected legitimate efforts to hold perpetrators accountable. However, there have been many instances where the government has gone beyond legitimate action against the coup plotters and has undermined their own rule of law and democratic traditions.

{mosads}Specifically for Pastor Brunson, in March of 2018, Turkish authorities filed an indictment detailing his alleged crimes. This document was a bizarre collection of anonymous accusations and character assassination. It was a disgrace to any sense of justice, and removed all doubt that the charges against Pastor Brunson were simply political and lacked any connection to reality.

In addition, Pastor Brunson had been a resident of Turkey since 1993. There is no reasonable explanation for why his Christianity would be a threat to the Turkish state, especially given Turkey’s centuries-old tradition of welcoming the practice of all faiths.

For these reasons, I joined a bipartisan group of 153 other members of Congress to send President Recep Tayyip Erdogan a letter directly raising these issues and advocating for a swift and just conclusion to Pastor Brunson’s case. It was imperative that the Turkish government respect the rights of law-abiding citizens of the United States while they travel, work, and live in Turkey without fear of persecution.

The case of Pastor Brunson is just one example of how fighting against religious persecution must be a bipartisan issue, and how with an active and engaged administration led by President Trump, we can effectively promote religious liberty around the world.

As recently as 2013, then-Pope Benedict highlighted the fact that Christians suffer more religious persecution than any other religious group, and declared this intolerance a threat to world security. Christians make up only 33 percent of the world’s population, but suffer from 80 percent of all acts of religious discrimination. More than 100,000 Christians are violently killed every year because of their faith.

While Christians are persecuted at the highest rate, many other religious groups face persecution. In Myanmar, the Muslim Rohingya people have been targeted by Buddhist nationalists, leading to the deaths of tens of thousands of civilians and the displacement of nearly a million refugees. Across China, both Christians and Muslims are persecuted, but persecution is most intense in the northwestern province of Xinjiang. The Muslim Uyghur people of Xinjiang are imprisoned or fined for observing religious fasts and wearing traditional clothing, they’re forced into reeducation camps, and families are sometimes even banned from using traditional names for their children. This type of persecution, regardless of the faith who falls victim, must be stopped.

Pastor Brunson’s release is a major victory for the United States and for the broader cause of religious liberty. I will continue working with my colleagues in Congress and President Trump to support the cause of religious freedom around the world. We can and must do more.

Cook represents the 8th District of California and serves on the House Armed Services, Foreign Affairs and Natural Resources Committees.