(CNN) — American pastor Andrew Brunson, released after being detained in Turkey for two years, has landed at Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany, a senior US administration official said Friday night.

Brunson is expected to spend a brief time at Ramstein before flying to Washington on Saturday, a White House spokesman said. Speaking at a rally in Ohio, President Trump said he plans to meet with Brunson.

Brunson had been charged with helping to plot a coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. A Turkish court on Friday sentenced Brunson to three years and one month in prison, but chose to release him based on his time already served, as well as his manner during the proceedings, his lawyer said. Prosecutors were seeking a 10-year jail term.

After his release, Brunson quickly left his home in Izmir, Turkey, and headed to the airport. Two US defense officials said the US had put a military aircraft on standby from Europe to transport Brunson out of Turkey. The senior administration source said Brunson’s wife flew with him.

The case had soured relations between Turkey and the United States, heightened by Trump’s defense of Brunson as his administration elevated religious freedom as a cause.

Speaking Friday at a rally in Lebanon, Ohio, Trump said, “Earlier today we secured the release of pastor Andrew Brunson.”

Bunson, he said, is “free from jail” and was “in the air” on his way to Germany, where he will undergo a “brief check.”

“He’s coming to Washington, DC, tomorrow and we’ll say hello,” Trump said, adding, “He went through a lot … and he’s on his way back.”

A source told CNN that Brunson will be flown to Germany and if he needs medical assistance he may stay in Germany before returning to Washington.

The court’s decision comes a day after a source told CNN that US officials believed they were on the verge of securing Brunson’s release.

Turkey’s presidential office denied any deal with the US had taken place and criticized Trump for tweeting that he had been “working very hard on Pastor Brunson” and his release.

“It is with great regret that we have been monitoring US efforts to mount pressure on Turkey’s independent court system for some time. During this period, our country has been subjected to various threats of sanctions,” said Fahrettin Altun, the Turkish presidency’s communications director, in a written statement.

Before the verdict, Brunson was able to meet his wife in the courthouse, where they held hands and talked about the possible outcome.

“I am an innocent man. I love Jesus. I love Turkey,” said Brunson, wearing a dark suit and red tie.

Brunson was moved to his home in July this year, placed under house arrest and given a travel ban, in a move seen as a potential step toward his release.

Brunson’s lawyer, Ismail Cem Halavurt, told CNN that Brunson’s electronic tag would later be removed and that his client was now a “free man.”

Turkey detained Brunson in October 2016 in the aftermath of a failed military coup.

Brunson, a native of North Carolina, worked as an evangelical Presbyterian pastor at the Izmir Resurrection Church.

He has lived in Turkey for more than 23 years with his wife and three children, according to the American Center for Law and Justice, which had advocated for his release.

The Brunson decision comes at a time of intense global attention on Turkey, which has locked horns with Saudi Arabia over the disappearance of a Saudi journalist in Istanbul.

Turkish authorities claim to have audio and visual evidence that shows Jamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist, was killed inside the Saudi consulate, a source familiar with the ongoing investigation told CNN.

Saudi Arabia firmly denies any involvement in his disappearance.

Brunson’s release is also a step forward in Turkish-US relations, which have shown signs of warming in recent months. Trump and Erdogan met briefly on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in September for the first time since relations soured. Shortly afterward, Erdogan said the two countries were likely to weather the storm.

Turkey had good financial and strategic reasons to release Brunson, several analysts have said, including the threat of further US sanctions if Brunson had not been released.

Trump slapped Turkey, a NATO ally, with sanctions in August, targeting the country’s justice and interior ministers.

In August, Trump told reporters that Turkey had “not acted as a friend” and that the charges against Brunson were “phony.”</s>WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Turkish court has freed pastor Andrew Brunson, a North Carolina-native, two years after he was detained, who was charged with helping to plot a coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The court on Friday sentenced Brunson to three years and one month in prison, but chose to release him based on his time already served, as well as his manner during the proceedings, his lawyer said. Prosecutors were seeking a 10-year jail term.

U.S. Representative Mark Walker (R-N.C.) responded in a statement, saying, “Every American should be proud that we are finally bringing North Carolina pastor Andrew Brunson home. His release today, after a two-year unjust imprisonment, was only possible through millions of prayers and the concerted efforts of President Trump, Vice President Pence, Secretary Pompeo and members of Congress. This needs to be the end point for the many acts of aggression and human rights violations for Turkey and President Erdogan.”

In an effort to exert pressure on Turkey, 154 US House representatives, in a bi-partisan effort, sent a letter to President Erdogan demanding Brunson’s release. Walker also introduced legislation that would direct international financial institutions to oppose loans to Turkey until Brunson, US citizens and consular staff were released.

Turkey detained Brunson in October 2016 in the aftermath of a failed military coup.

Brunson worked as an evangelical Presbyterian pastor at the Izmir Resurrection Church. He has lived in Turkey for more than 23 years with his wife and three children, according to the American Center for Law and Justice, which had advocated for his release.

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom stated, “Pastor Brunson initially was held in a cell with 21 other inmates that was built to hold only eight prisoners. He was transferred in August 2017 to Kiriklar Prison where he was in a cell with two other men who have been accused of being members of the Gülen movement. He spends 24 hours a day in his cell, leaving for one hour weekly for visits. Sometimes he is allowed family visits and the U.S. Embassy sees him regularly.”

The USCIRF added that Brunson was incarcerated without due process and inadequate physical and psychological support.

Before the verdict, Brunson was able to meet his wife in the courthouse, where they held hands and talked about the possible outcome.

“I am an innocent man. I love Jesus. I love Turkey,” said Brunson, wearing a dark suit and red tie.

Brunson was moved to his home in July this year, placed under house arrest and given a travel ban, in a move seen as a potential step toward his release.

Brunson’s lawyer Ismail Cem Halavurt told CNN that Brunson’s electronic tag would later be removed and that his client was now a “free man.”

A source, who confirmed Brunson’s travel ban and house arrest had been lifted, told CNN that the next step was to guard his safety and get him out of the country.

A senior White House official cautioned that an intricate “choreography” needed to unfold before Brunson could return to the United States.

He is expected first to fly to Germany for a full medical evaluation at the US’ Ramstein Air Force Base, the official said.

Another source said Brunson was likely to leave the country tonight, and that a US military aircraft from Europe was on standby to transport him out of Turkey.

The Brunson decision comes at a time of intense global attention on Turkey, which has locked horns with Saudi Arabia over the disappearance of a Saudi journalist in Istanbul.

Turkish authorities claim to have audio and visual evidence that shows Jamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist, was killed inside the Saudi consulate, a source familiar with the ongoing investigation told CNN.

Saudi Arabia firmly denies any involvement in his disappearance.

Brunson’s release is also a step forward in Turkish-US relations, which have shown signs of warming in recent months. Trump and Erdogan met briefly on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in September for the first time since relations soured. Shortly afterward, Erdogan said the two countries were likely to weather the storm.

Turkey had good financial and strategic reasons to release Brunson, several analysts have said, including the threat of further US sanctions if Brunson had not been released.

Trump slapped Turkey, a NATO ally, with sanctions in August, targeting the country’s justice and interior ministers.

In August, President Donald Trump told reporters that Turkey had “not acted as a friend” and that the charges against Brunson were “phony.”</s>IZMIR, Turkey (Reuters) - A U.S. pastor was flown out of Turkey on Friday after a court freed him from two years of detention, in a step that could improve U.S.-Turkish ties strained by disputes over Syria, Iran and Ankara’s planned purchase of Russian military equipment.

Pastor Andrew Brunson was expected to land at Joint Base Andrews near Washington at around noon EDT (1600 GMT) on Saturday after a stop in Germany for a medical check-up.

Brunson was jailed two years ago and had been under house arrest since July. He was accused of links to Kurdish militants and supporters of Fethullah Gulen, the cleric blamed by Turkey’s government for a coup attempt in 2016.

The Turkish court sentenced Brunson to three years and 1-1/2 months in prison on terrorism charges, but said he would not serve any further jail time and freed him.

Brunson, who has lived in Turkey for more than 20 years, denied the accusations and Washington had demanded his immediate release.

U.S. Ambassador Richard Grenell greeted Brunson and his wife during a refueling stop in Germany, the envoy said on social network Twitter.

“He’s almost home thanks to @realDonaldTrump,” Grenell wrote. “When I presented him with the US flag, he immediately kissed it.”

President Donald Trump said Brunson would probably visit the White House Oval Office on Saturday.

Asked if U.S. sanctions imposed on Turkey to try to win Brunson’s release might be lifted, Trump said no agreement was made for the pastor’s freedom.

“There was no deal made at all. There was no deal. But we’re very happy to have him and have him in good shape.” Trump told reporters in Cincinnati.

The diplomatic fight over Brunson had accelerated a recent sell-off in Turkey’s currency, worsening its financial crisis.

‘GREAT CHRISTIAN’

Dressed in a black suit, white shirt and red tie, Brunson wept as the court decision was announced, witnesses said. Before the judge’s ruling, he had told the court: “I am an innocent man. I love Jesus. I love Turkey.”

U.S. pastor Andrew Brunson and his wife Norrine arrive at the airport in Izmir, Turkey October 12, 2018. REUTERS/Umit Bektas

Witnesses told the court in the western town of Aliaga that testimony against the pastor attributed to them was inaccurate.

Brunson’s mother told Reuters she and his father were elated at the news. “We are overjoyed that God has answered the prayers of so many people around the world,” she said by telephone from her home in Black Mountain, North Carolina.

Trump has used the Brunson case to try to score points with evangelical Christians, a large part of his political base, ahead of the Nov. 6 congressional elections, which will determine whether Republicans keep control of Congress.

He has called Brunson, a native of North Carolina, a “great Christian”, and Vice President Mike Pence, the White House’s top emissary to evangelicals, had urged Americans to pray for Brunson.

“We thank God for answered prayers and commend the efforts of @SecPompeo & @StateDept in supporting Pastor Brunson and his family during this difficult time,” Pence said on Twitter. “@SecondLady and I look forward to welcoming Pastor Brunson and his courageous wife Norine back to the USA!”

U.S. broadcaster NBC said on Thursday that Washington had done a secret deal with Ankara to secure Brunson’s release.

Senator Thom Tillis, a Republican from North Carolina, told Reuters that active engagement by Trump and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo contributed to Brunson’s release.

“A lot of factors played into this,” Tillis said, adding the United States was trying to “get back to a point of a positive relationship” with Turkey.

NATO ALLIES

Relations between the two NATO allies have been under serious strain over U.S. support for Kurdish fighters in northern Syria, Turkey’s plans to buy a Russian missile defense system, and the U.S. jailing of an executive at a Turkish state bank in an Iran sanctions-busting case.

The release of Brunson could help ease tensions, but political analysts say many unresolved problems remain.

“This is a necessary but far from sufficient step to reverse what has been a deepening rift between the United States and Turkey, two NATO allies,” said Jon Alterman, director of the Middle East program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

Attention may now turn to the fate of a Turkish-U.S. national and former NASA scientist in jail in Turkey on terrorism charges, as well as three local employees of the U.S. consulate who have also been detained.

Slideshow (15 Images)

Washington wants all of them released.

“We hope that the Turkish government will quickly release our other detained U.S. citizens and @StateDept locally employed staff,” Pompeo said on Twitter.

Ankara has demanded that the United States extradite Gulen to Turkey. The cleric, who was lived in self-imposed exile in the United States since 1999, denies any role in the attempted coup.</s>The US just lost its most visible point of leverage against Turkey

While the term “win-win” is typically applied to traditional geopolitical relations, the decision of a Turkish court made in respect of the American national Andrew Brunson has geopolitical implications that for Turkey represent a substantial win-win. The United States had continually protested that Brunson was innocent of charges relating to his activities aiding PKK and FETO terrorists who threaten the security and peace of the Turkish people. After a substantial trial, the Turkish court found Brunson guilty as charged, thus affirming before the eyes of the world that he was indeed a terror collaborator.

However, what appeared more important to American policy makers was that Brunson was freed and allowed to travel back to the United States. Hours ago, it was confirmed that while Brunson was found guilty, he is nevertheless a free man as the time he spent in prison during his trial covered the length of the court’s custodial sentence of three years one month and fifteen days as judges further considered Brunson’s personal state in foregoing any requirements for Brunson to serve further prison time.

Now that Brunson is on his way back to the US, Washington can no longer use his imprisonment in Turkey as a form of leverage to put pressure on Ankara. Accordingly, the sanctions and tariffs that the US placed on Turkish officials and the Turkish state respectively ought to be immediately dropped as the justification for these provocations was the detention of Andrew Brunson which is no longer an issue.

While terror suspects abducted by the US are infamous for languishing for decades in the Guantanamo Bay penal colony without so much as the right to a lawyer or due process, Andrew Brunson had a qualified lawyer and received a trial in the modern Turkish court system which operates along the lines of most court systems in the European Union. The fact that his sentence was so short and that the court allowed for his release based on time already served, is testament to the comparative leniency of Turkey’s courts comapred with those of many other nations facing the kinds existential terror threats that Turkey has faced for decades.

In this sense, justice was done in the normal way and even so the US still got what it wanted as a result of Turkey’s self-evidently moderate and globally aware courts.

Saudi Arabia is a state infamous for beheading those convicted of offences far less severe than that which Andrew Brunson was convicted of. The mysterious disappearance and likely murder of Saudi born journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul has put further strain on the already poor Saudi relationship with Turkey, although the Turkish authorities continue to act in a diplomatic manner and have invited Riyadh to participate in the ongoing investigation. Here again Turkey took the high road. By contrast, when Britain accused Russia of attempting to kill two foreigners on British soil, London delivered a guilty verdict before the investigation had finished while to this day, no Russian authorities have been invited to the crime scene in southern England.

The response by the US to the Khashoggi incident has left many pointing to the flagrant hypocrisy that exists among US policy makers. No major White House official has attempted to lay any suspicion let alone blame at the feet of Saudi Arabia even though the evidence that has thus far come out makes it virtually impossible to conclude that anything else happened to Khashoggi other than a Saudi state sponsored murder.

By now taking one of the most public elements of the Turkish-US disputes out of the picture, Turkey has necessarily thrust the spotlight on the American politicians who are self-evidently walking on eggshells to protect Saudi Arabia, a nation whose socially reactionary model (even after the so-called MBS reforms) contrasts poorly with the modern, open democracy that is The Republic of Turkey.

With Saudi Arabia failing to produce any convincing explanation as to what happened to Khashoggi, all responsible voices in the US, even those who previously misunderstood the Brunson matter, ought to encourage more US cooperation with Turkey regarding the Khashoggi investigation while also more thoroughly scrutinising Saudi Arabia for its alleged role in the incident.

The release of Andrew Brunson won’t solve all of the problems facing Turkey-US relations overnight. On the contrary, America’s continued hesitation to implement the Manbij agreement to neutralise YPG/PKK terrorists remains a major strain as does the closeness of the US establishment to wanted terrorist Fethullah Gulen.

That being said, so far as perception management goes, Turkey has just released a guilty man into the arms of America, while the US resident Jamal Khashoggi appears to have been savagely murdered by the Saudi state. The contrast could not be bigger. If the US does not alter its policy making even slightly as a result, it demonstrates just how deep the US position of unilateralism truly has become.

In a final twist of fate, as many of Donald Trump’s domestic supporters tend to have negative views of Islam as a whole, perhaps their temporary love-affair with Andrew Brunson will be short lived if he begins extolling the virtues of FETO’s Islamic cult like extremism in front of the US media.</s>A Turkish court has convicted an American pastor at the center of a Turkish-American diplomatic dispute of terror charges, but has released him from house arrest and allowed him to leave Turkey.

The court near the western city of Izmir on Friday sentenced Andrew Brunson to 3 years and 1 month in prison for the conviction, but since the evangelical pastor has already spent two years in detention he won't serve more time.

Brunson, 50, had rejected the espionage and terror-related charges and strongly maintained his innocence.

Lawyer Ismail Cem Halavurt said Brunson was expected to leave Turkey for the United States

Turkish soldiers stand guard outside the entrance to Aliaga Prison Court after American pastor Andrew Brunson arrived ahead of his court hearing on October 12, 2018 in Izmir, Turkey.

The pastor told the court he is "an innocent man. I love Jesus, I love Turkey."

The United States has repeatedly called for his release.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.</s>ALIAGA, Turkey — A Turkish court convicted an American pastor at the center of a Turkish-American diplomatic dispute of terror charges, but has released him from house arrest and allowed him to leave Turkey.

The court near the western city of Izmir on Friday sentenced Andrew Brunson to three years and one month in prison for the conviction, but since the evangelical pastor has already spent two years in detention, he won’t serve more time.

Brunson, 50, had rejected the espionage and terror-related charges and strongly maintained his innocence.

Lawyer Ismail Cem Halavurt said Brunson was expected to leave Turkey for the United States</s>ANKARA (Reuters) - The American evangelical Christian pastor at the center of a row between Ankara and Washington left his home in Turkey’s western Izmir province on Friday, a Reuters cameraman said, hours after he was released from detention.

Andrew Brunson was released after the court sentenced him to three years and 1-1/2 months in prison on terrorism charges, but said he would not serve any further jail time. Brunson, who has lived in Turkey for more than 20 years, was jailed two years ago and has been under house arrest since July.</s>President Donald Trump welcomed American pastor Andrew Brunson to the Oval Office on Saturday, celebrating his release from nearly two years of confinement in Turkey that had sparked a diplomatic row with a key ally and outcry from U.S. evangelical groups.

Brunson, who returned to the United States aboard a military jet shortly before their meeting, appeared to be in good health and good spirits. He thanked Trump for working to secure his freedom and then lead his family in prayer for the president. "You really fought for us," he told Trump.

"From a Turkish prison to the White House in 24 hours, that's not bad," Trump said.

U.S. President Donald Trump and American evangelical Christian preacher Andrew Brunson (L) participate in a prayer a day after Brunson was released from a Turkish jail, in the Oval Office, on October 13, 2018 in Washington, DC.

Administration officials cast Brunson's release as vindication of Trump's hard-nosed negotiating stance, saying Turkey tried to set terms for Brunson's release, but Trump was insistent on Brunson's release without conditions. Trump maintained there was no deal for Brunson's freedom, but the president dangled the prospect of better relations between the U.S. and its NATO ally.

"We do not pay ransom in this country," Trump said.

Where previous administrations kept negotiations over U.S. prisoners held abroad close to the vest, Trump has elevated them to causes célèbres, striking a tough line with allies and foes alike.

Trump thanked Turkey's president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who had resisted the demands of Trump and other high-level U.S. officials for Brunson's release. Erdogan had insisted that his country's courts are independent, though he previously had suggested a possible swap for Brunson.

The U.S. had repeatedly called for Brunson's release and, this year, sanctioned two Turkish officials and doubled tariffs on steel and aluminum imports citing in part Brunson's plight.

Trump said the U.S. greatly appreciated Brunson's release and said the move "will lead to good, perhaps great, relations" between the U.S. and fellow NATO ally Turkey, and said the White House would "take a look" at the sanctions.

Brunson's homecoming amounts to a diplomatic high note for Trump, who is counting on the support of evangelical Christians for Republican candidates in the Nov. 6 election. Thousands of Trump's supporters cheered Friday night at a rally in Ohio when Trump informed them that Brunson was once again a free man.

Trump asked Brunson and his family which candidate they voted for in 2016, saying he was confident they had gone for him. "I would like to say I sent in an absentee ballot from prison," Brunson quipped, before praying that God grant Trump "supernatural wisdom."

Evangelical voters overwhelmingly voted for the president despite discomfort with his personal shortcomings, in large part because he pledged to champion their causes, from to defending persecuted Christians overseas to appointing conservative justices to the Supreme Court. In the space of seven days, less than a month from the midterm elections, Trump delivered on both fronts.

Brunson's case has been championed by prominent evangelical leaders such as Tony Perkins, as well as Vice President Mike Pence.

First word of Brunson's arrival back on American soil Saturday came from Perkins, president of the Family Research Council. Perkins tweeted just after noon that he had landed at a military base outside Washington with Brunson and his wife, Norine.

Erdogan said on he hoped the two countries will continue to cooperate "as it befits two allies." Erdogan also called for joint efforts against terrorism, and he listed the Islamic State group, Kurdish militants and the network of a U.S.-based Muslim cleric whom Turkey blames for a failed coup in 2016.

Relations between the countries have become severely strained over Brunson's detention and a host of other issues.

A Turkish court on Friday convicted Brunson of having links to terrorism and sentenced him to just over three years in prison, but released the 50-year-old evangelical pastor because he had already spent nearly two years in detention. An earlier charge of espionage was dropped.

Hours later, Brunson was flown out of Turkey, his home for more than two decades. He was taken to a U.S. military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany, for a medical checkup.

"I love Jesus. I love Turkey," an emotional Brunson, who had maintained his innocence, told the court at Friday's hearing.

Turkish soldiers stand guard outside the entrance to Aliaga Prison Court after American pastor Andrew Brunson arrived ahead of his court hearing on October 12, 2018 in Izmir, Turkey.

Brunson's release could benefit Turkey by allowing the government to focus on an escalating diplomatic crisis over Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi contributor to The Washington Post who has been missing for more than a week and is feared dead after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Turkish officials suspect Khashoggi, a critic of the Saudi government, was killed in the consulate; Saudi officials deny it.

Trump maintained the two cases were not linked, saying Brunson's release amid the Khashoggi investigation was "strict coincidence."

Turkey may also hope the U.S. will now lift the tariffs on Turkish steel and aluminum imports, a move that would inject confidence into an economy rattled by high inflation and foreign currency debt.

But Brunson's release doesn't resolve disagreements over U.S. support for Kurdish fighters in Syria, as well as a plan by Turkey to buy Russian surface-to-air missiles. Turkey is also frustrated by the refusal of the U.S. to extradite Fethullah Gulen, a Pennsylvania-based Muslim cleric accused by Turkey of engineering the failed coup.

Brunson was accused of committing crimes on behalf of Gulen and Kurdish militants who have been fighting the Turkish state for decades. He faced up to 35 years in jail if convicted of all the charges against him.

The pastor, who is originally from Black Mountain, North Carolina, led a small congregation in the Izmir Resurrection Church. He was imprisoned for nearly two years after being detained in October 2016. Brunson was formally arrested that December and placed under house arrest on July 25 for health reasons.

Associated Press writer Zeynep Bilginsoy in Istanbul contributed to this report.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.</s>WASHINGTON – Rev. Andrew Brunson is back home in the United States after being held for two years in Turkey on terrorism charges.

He will meet with President Donald Trump, who helped negotiate the American pastor's release, later Saturday.

Brunson, whose detention caused a deep rift in United States-Turkey relations, landed shortly after 1 p.m. at Joint Base Andrews and will visit with Trump at 2:30 p.m. at the White House.

The president posted about their meeting on Twitter, saying the pastor "is a great Christian."

"Pastor Andrew Brunson, released by Turkey, will be with me in the Oval Office at 2:30 P.M. (this afternoon). It will be wonderful to see and meet him," Trump said. "He is a great Christian who has been through such a tough experience. I would like to thank President @RT_Erdogan for his help!"

More: U.S. pastor released from house arrest in Turkey to visit White House on Saturday

Brunson, a Christian missionary who has lived in Turkey for more than two decades, was arrested in 2016 and accused of plotting to overthrow the government of Turkey, led by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He had rejected the allegations.

Trump had clashed with Erdogan over Brunson’s case – going so far as to slap sanctions and tariffs on Turkey earlier this year to pressure the Turkish leader.

Trump re-emphasized Saturday that "no deal" was made with Turkey for Brunson's release but the matter was a showing of good will that could repair the relationship between both countries.

"I don’t make deals for hostages," Trump wrote on Twitter. "There was, however, great appreciation on behalf of the United States, which will lead to good, perhaps great, relations between the United States & Turkey!"

Brunson's successful release Friday is just the latest for the Trump administration, something the president was quick to showcase.

At a rally in Ohio Friday evening, Trump started his remarks celebrating Brunson's release and talked about his administration's work to have others released in North Korea, Egypt and Venezuela.

"We bring a lot of people back and that's good," the president said.

Brunson, who has family roots in North Carolina, has been under house arrest with his wife Norine – forbidden from leaving his guarded apartment in Izmir, a city on Turkey's southwest coast.

Brunson previously served 20 months in a Turkish jail. He could have faced up to 35 years in prison. His supporters have said the charges against him are absurd.</s>IZMIR, Turkey (Reuters) - The American evangelical Christian pastor at the center of a row between Ankara and Washington arrived at his home in Turkey on Friday after a Turkish court ruled he could go free, a move that may signal a major step toward mending ties between the allies.

Andrew Brunson arrived at his home in Turkey’s coastal province of Izmir, a Reuters cameraman said, having left the courthouse in a convoy of cars.

He was released after the court sentenced him to three years and 1-1/2 months in prison on terrorism charges, but said he would not serve any further jail time. The pastor has lived in Turkey for more than 20 years and was put in prison two years ago and has been under house arrest since July.

U.S. President Donald Trump, who has imposed sanctions on Turkey in an attempt to secure Brunson’s freedom, tweeted: “PASTOR BRUNSON JUST RELEASED. WILL BE HOME SOON!”

Dressed in a black suit, white shirt and red tie, the North Carolina native wept as the decision was announced, witnesses said. Before the judge’s ruling he had told the court: “I am an innocent man. I love Jesus. I love Turkey.”

After the ruling, Brunson’s lawyer told reporters the pastor was likely to leave Turkey. The U.S. military has a plan to fly Brunson back to America on a military aircraft, officials told Reuters.

The diplomatic stand-off over Brunson, who had been pastor of the Izmir Resurrection Church, had accelerated a sell-off in Turkey’s lira currency, worsening a financial crisis.

Brunson had been accused of links to Kurdish militants and supporters of Fethullah Gulen, the cleric blamed by Turkey for a coup attempt in 2016. Brunson denied the accusation and Washington had demanded his immediate release.

Witnesses told the court in the western town of Aliaga that testimonies against the pastor attributed to them were inaccurate.

Brunson’s wife Norine looked on from the visitors’ area.

Brunson’s mother told Reuters she and his father were elated at the news. “We are overjoyed that God has answered the prayers of so many people around the world,” she said.

Trump has scored points with evangelical Christians, a large part of his political base, by focusing on the Brunson case. The release could boost Trump’s ability to encourage such voters to support Republicans in large numbers in Nov. 6 elections, which will determine whether the party keeps control of Congress.

The heavily conservative constituency voted overwhelmingly for Trump in 2016. He has called Brunson a “great Christian”, and Vice President Mike Pence, the White House’s top emissary to evangelicals, had urged Americans to pray for Brunson.

“We thank God for answered prayers and commend the efforts of @SecPompeo & @StateDept in supporting Pastor Brunson and his family during this difficult time,” Pence wrote on Twitter. “@SecondLady and I look forward to welcoming Pastor Brunson and his courageous wife Norine back to the USA!”

U.S. broadcaster NBC said on Thursday that Washington had done a secret deal with Ankara to secure Brunson’s release.

“After an unjust imprisonment in Turkey for two years, we can all breathe a sigh of relief,” U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said on Twitter.

The lira stood at 5.9600 to the dollar at 1530 GMT, slightly weaker on the day after firming 3 percent on Thursday on expectations that Brunson would be freed.

Relations between the two NATO allies are also under strain over U.S. support for Kurdish fighters in northern Syria, Turkey’s plans to buy a Russian missile defense system, and the U.S. jailing of a executive at a Turkish state bank in an Iran sanctions-busting case.

With Brunson’s release, attention may now turn to the fate of a Turkish-U.S. national and former NASA scientist in jail in Turkey on terrorism charges, as well as three local employees of the U.S. consulate who have also been detained.

Washington wants all these people released, while Ankara has demanded the extradition of Gulen. The cleric, who was lived in self-imposed exile in the United States since 1999, denies any role in the attempted coup.

Friday’s decision could be a first step to ease tensions, although Turkey’s presidency took aim at what it said was a prolonged U.S. effort to put pressure on its courts.

“It is with great regret that we have been monitoring U.S. efforts to mount pressure on Turkey’s independent court system for some time,” Fahrettin Altun, the presidency’s communications director, said.

Further moves which have been discussed include the return to Turkey of bank executive Mehmet Hakan Attila to serve out his sentence, the release of the U.S. consular staff, and agreement that the U.S. Treasury avoid draconian steps against Halkbank, the state lender.

“Like the Turkish courts, the Republic of Turkey does not receive instructions from any body, authority, office or person,” Altun, the Turkish official, said. “We make our own rules and make our own decisions that reflect our will.”
A court in Turkey orders the release of American evangelical Christian pastor Andrew Brunson after two years of arrest.