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The officials targeted under the so-called Global Magnitsky Act are Turkish Justice Minister Abdulhamit G\u00fcl and Turkish Interior Minister S\u00fcleyman Soylu, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters.<\/p>\n
The US Treasury is imposing sanctions against two cabinet-level Turkish officials over the continued detention of a US pastor by the Turkish authorities, the White House spokesperson said.<\/p>\n
Pastor Andrew Brunson, a US citizen and a Turkish resident for over two decades, has been arrested as part of Ankara\u2019s probe into the 2016 failed military coup. He is facing up to 35 years in prison if found guilty of supporting the coup.<\/p>\n
The two officials targeted by sanctions \u201cplayed leading roles in the organizations responsible for the arrest and detention\u201d<\/em> of Brunson, the US Treasury\u2019s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said in a statement.<\/p>\n READ MORE:\u00a0Erdogan warns US will lose a \u2018strong & sincere ally\u2019, accuses Trump of waging \u2018psychological war\u2019<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Treasury accused the two of \u201cimplementing Turkey’s serious human rights abuses.\u201d<\/em> All their property within US jurisdiction has been blocked, and US citizens are also \u201cgenerally prohibited from engaging in transactions\u201d<\/em> with the two Turkish officials.<\/p>\n The Trump administration has been pressuring Turkey for some time to release Brunson. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused his American counterpart of waging \u201cpsychological warfare\u201d<\/em> against Turkey over the pastor and warned that the US may lose \u201ca strong and sincere ally\u201d<\/em> in Turkey.<\/p>\n The United States will impose large sanctions on Turkey for their long time detainment of Pastor Andrew Brunson, a great Christian, family man and wonderful human being. He is suffering greatly. This innocent man of faith should be released immediately!<\/p>\n \u2014 Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 26, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n As Trump threatened Turkey with sanctions on Twitter last week, Erdogan shrugged off the threat, saying the US is in no position to force Ankara back down.<\/p>\n “No one dictates Turkey. We will never tolerate threats from anybody. Rule of law is for everyone; no exception,”<\/em> Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu tweeted.<\/p>\n On Wednesday, Cavusoglu responded to the sanctions by tweeting that they \u201cwon\u2019t be left without retaliation.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n ABD\u2019nin iki Bakan\u0131m\u0131za yapt\u0131r\u0131m uygulamaya kalk\u0131\u015fmas\u0131 kar\u015f\u0131l\u0131ks\u0131z kalmayacakt\u0131r. ABD Y\u00f6netimi hukuk d\u0131\u015f\u0131 taleplerini bu y\u00f6ntemle elde edemeyece\u011fini idrak etmedi\u011fi s\u00fcrece sorunlar\u0131m\u0131z\u0131 \u00e7\u00f6zemeyiz. https:\/\/t.co\/0u56aTwsqK<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Mevl\u00fct \u00c7avu\u015fo\u011flu (@MevlutCavusoglu) August 1, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n Earlier on Tuesday, Turkish government spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said Ankara would retaliate against any US sanctions and hoped the conflict could be resolved during a meeting between US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Cavusoglu later this week.<\/p>\n Think your friends would be interested? Share this story!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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