By\u00a0Daren Butler; Editing by David Dolan and Janet Lawrence<\/p>\n
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – The lawyer for the American Christian pastor on trial for terrorism charges in Turkey said on Wednesday he planned to appeal to the constitutional court to seek Andrew Brunson\u2019s release after being rejected by a lower court last week.\u00a0\u00a0Brunson is at the center of a row between Turkey and the United States, which has exacerbated a crisis in Turkey\u2019s lira and reverberated across global markets.\u00a0\u00a0The evangelical pastor, who has lived in Turkey for two decades, has been detained for 21 months on terrorism charges, which he denies. He is under house arrest.<\/p>\n
Once domestic legal avenues are exhausted, if necessary the defense would then apply to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are hopeful regarding the constitutional court, but if it is rejected there, we will go to the ECHR without hesitation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The court in Turkey\u2019s Izmir province which last week rejected the appeal said evidence was still being collected and the pastor posed a flight risk, according to a copy of the court ruling seen by Reuters.<\/p>\n
In an interview with Reuters on Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump said he would give Turkey no concessions in return for the release of Brunson. Ankara has not responded to Trump\u2019s comments.\u00a0\u00a0Trump, who counts evangelical Christians among his core supporters, has become a vocal champion of the pastor\u2019s case.<\/p>\n
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Source\u00a0reuters.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"