'Don't leave me here in prison'

America's top diplomat met for 20 minutes on the evening of 30 March with the wife of United States (US) pastor Andrew Brunson, jailed in Turkey for nearly six months on undisclosed charges of involvement in a terrorist organisation.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was on a one-day stopover in the Turkish capital Ankara, meeting for the first time with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and senior government ministers regarding the conflict in Syria and other pressing diplomatic issues.

"I do not know what will come of it, considering the sensitive period Turkey is in, but I was grateful for the opportunity," Norine Brunson wrote after meeting Tillerson. She noted that Tillerson said he had been told that an indictment regarding her husband's case was 'about to be handed down'.

Neither Brunson nor his Turkish lawyer have been allowed to see any details or evidence of the alleged criminal charges filed against him. He and his wife had been involved in church work in Turkey for 23 years before they were detained without warning on 7 October, 2016, over an application to renew their residence visas.

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim had indicated three weeks ago to American journalists visiting Ankara that Brunson's case could be 'accelerated'. But he denied recent speculation that the pastor was being held as a political bargaining chip, allegedly to help force Washington to extradite the Islamic cleric accused of orchestrating a failed coup against the Turkish government (in July 2016) from his home in the US.

Plea to Trump

Two days before Tillerson's arrival, US Embassy officials from Ankara met with Brunson at the Sakran 3 Nolu T Tipi Prison near Izmir. Brunson handed the officials an appeal letter to US President Donald Trump, describing himself as a political prisoner being falsely accused, 'even though I have a long public track record as a church pastor'. Stressing that the Turkish government had produced no proof against him during his months of incarceration, Brunson wrote: "I plead with my government - with the Trump administration - to fight for me. Please do not leave me here in prison."

Rev. Brunson shares a small cell with 17 Turkish prisoners, reportedly also accused of criminal links with Fethullah Gulen, the Turkish imam living in self-exile in Pennsylvania. Tens of thousands of judges, prosecutors, journalists, military personnel, academics and civil servants have been jailed since last July in a massive legal probe against what Ankara identifies as the Fethullah Gulen Terrorist Organisation.

An appeal regarding Brunson's imprisonment was sent to President Erdogan last month by members of the US Congress, along with interventions to the UN Human Rights Commission in February and March by the American Centre for Law and Justice, which has mounted a global campaign on Brunson's behalf.

Norine Brunson had persisted in going to Ankara from Izmir, where she and her husband led a small church, even though officials told her it would not be possible to meet the Secretary of State.