'He’s still in prison': Trump lifts Turkey sanctions but Americans remain detained

Source: Politico | December 29, 2018 | Eli Okun

The move baffled those who say the U.S. has otherwise been working hard behind the scenes to free those still held in Turkey.

When the United States celebrated the release of American pastor Andrew Brunson in October, Kubra Golge was hurt.

Like Brunson, her husband, former NASA scientist Serkan Golge, was detained in Turkey on what the U.S. government considers trumped-up charges, locked up during a family vacation.

“I was really disappointed,” she told POLITICO. “He’s still in prison.”

In fact, Golge is one of several Americans still being held in Turkey, some for dubious reasons. Several U.S. Consulate workers are also detained.

So human rights activists were struck when, a month after Brunson’s release, the Treasury Department lifted sanctions on senior Turkish officials. In exchange, Turkey also agreed to roll back its own penalties on two U.S. Cabinet heads. The move baffled those who say the U.S. has otherwise been working hard behind the scenes to free those still detained in Turkey.

“Equal force should have been applied,” said Eugene Chudnovsky, co-chair of the human rights-focused Committee of Concerned Scientists, which has advocated Golge’s release. “The committee’s a little upset by the fact that the effort on behalf of Golge has not been as strong as the effort on behalf of the pastor.”

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