The United States on Wednesday sanctioned Turkey's Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul and Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu over the country's imprisonment of Pastor Andrew Brunson, with White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders saying the two men played leading roles in his 2016 arrest and later detention.
“Pastor Brunson’s unjust detention and continued prosecution by Turkish officials is simply unacceptable,” said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in a subsequent statement formally announcing the financial restrictions. “President Trump has made it abundantly clear that the United States expects Turkey to release him immediately.”