For the past two decades, the North Carolina native has served the Turkish people as a church leader in Izmir. But on Oct. 7, 2016, Brunson was arrested and held for over a year before finally being charged with having connections to Kurdish militants and the Islamic Gulen movement that the government accuses of staging the July 2016 coup attempt against President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s government.

WASHINGTON — The daughter of imprisoned American pastor Andrew Brunson gave an impassioned speech during the first-ever State Department Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom, choking up a bit as she shared how her father feels “blessed” to suffer for his faith in Christ.

Jacqueline (Brunson) Furnari was among the family members of persecuted believers who shared the stories of persecution that their respective loved ones have faced at the State Department headquarters Tuesday, kicking off a much anticipated three-day conference on international religious freedom that the federal government has never hosted before.

“I know my dad’s character as only a daughter can, and I know the charges against him are absolutely absurd and false,” she told the hundreds gathered at the Harry S. Truman Building, asking them for prayers for her father’s release. “He is not an armed terrorist trying to overthrow any government. He is a pastor who went to Wheaton College and on to seminary and got a Ph.D. in New Testament.”

For the past two decades, the North Carolina native has served the Turkish people as a church leader in Izmir. But on Oct. 7, 2016, Brunson was arrested and held for over a year before finally being charged with having connections to Kurdish militants and the Islamic Gulen movement that the government accuses of staging the July 2016 coup attempt against President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s government.

The pastor has maintained his innocence and pressure from the U.S. continues to build as prominent lawmakers have said that the prosecution lacks credible evidence and have long called for his release.

Last week, Brunson appeared in court for his third hearing. Despite hopes that the court would release Brunson, he was again remanded back to prison until his next hearing in September.

“It is important to note that during these three [hearing] dates, there has not been one prosecution witness that has been able to provide one shred of evidence that support their ridiculous testimony — a fact that my father pointed out during the May 7 trial date and a fact that none of the judges on the panel seem to care about,” Furnari said. “The head judge personally told my father that all the prosecution’s witness testimony is simply being taken as truth therefore there is no need for any evidence.”

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