ICC Note: American missionaries, Andrew and Norine Bruson, were detained in Turkey on October 7 and given 15 days to leave the country. Daily requests by the U.S. consular officials, lawyers, and friends have been denied the couple. The Brunsons are currently leading the Izmir Resurrection Church in the city of Izmir. The detainment came after 20 years on residency when the couple reapplied for their visa.

10/19/2016 Turkey (WWM): Turkish officials in the coastal city of Izmir detained American Christians Andrew and Norine Brunson on 7 Oct., refusing ever since to allow daily requests for access to them by U.S. consular officials and lawyers.

According to authorities at the Migration Administration’s detention facility in Izmir, the Turkish Interior Ministry had ordered the couple’s deportation within 15 days. Specifically, the directive reportedly accused them of activities said to constitute a “national security risk”.

When pressed five days later for details about this general accusation, the detention officials said they were “waiting for papers from Ankara” on the case.

Residents of Turkey for the past 20 years, the Brunsons are currently leading the Izmir Resurrection Church, a small Protestant congregation averaging 30 to 40 worshippers, located in the city’s Alsancak district.

After filing a routine application in April to renew their residence visas, the Brunsons had received no response for the past six months. But when they arrived home on 7 Oct., they found a written summons requesting them to report with their passports to a local police station. On arrival, they were immediately taken into custody.

A lawyer asking to visit them was denied access and told to obtain an affidavit as his legal authorisation. But when he returned with the document, officials claimed that the couple had already signed a statement, declaring they did not want a lawyer. The authorities refused to produce the written statement.

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