Jacqueline Furnari (center) implored the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland, on March 9 to help get her father, EPC Teaching Elder Andrew Brunson, released from Turkey where he has been imprisoned since October 2016.

Jacqueline Furnari, daughter of Andrew and Norine Brunson, told members of the United Nations Human Rights Council that Turkey “should not get away with holding my father one more day” and pleaded with the U.N. to work to get her father released and returned to the United States. She spoke to the Council on March 9 in Geneva, Switzerland.

Andrew Brunson

Brunson, an EPC Teaching Elder who has lived in Turkey since 1993, has been imprisoned since October 7, 2016. He is accused of participation with groups the Turkish government blames for the failed July 2016 coup attempt.

On March 13, a Turkish prosecutor demanded a 35-year prison sentence, according to a report by the Doğan News Agency in Turkey. The prosecutor charged Brunson, 50, with being a “member and executive” of the Fetullah Gülen organization, which the government of Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan blames for the coup attempt and considers a terrorist group.

Click here for more coverage of Furnari’s testimony to the U.N. Human Rights Council.

On March 13 and 14, multiple media reports in the U.S. indicated that Andrew had been officially indicted on charges that he was an “executive” with the Gülen movement. (Under the Turkish legal system, once an indictment is made the court has 15 days to return a decision on the indictment. If approved, the case will proceed and the prosecution phase will begin.)

“Norine and I have been in regular contact via encrypted email this week,” said Jeff Jeremiah, EPC Stated Clerk. “She is so grateful for our continued prayers for her husband, and confirmed to me on Thursday, March 15, that the news reports of an indictment were inaccurate.”

Click here for a detailed report on the most recent accusations.