Court rules to keep US pastor in detention

ALIAGA, Turkey: A US pastor denied spying and terrorism charges Monday in a case that has strained ties between Ankara and Washington, as a Turkish court ruled to keep him in detention and set a new hearing in July.

Andrew Brunson, head of a small Protestant church in the western city of Izmir, faces up to 35 years in jail if convicted. He has been in detention since October 2016. Turkish prosecutors accuse Brunson of links to a group led by US-based Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen -- who Ankara says was behind a failed 2016 coup -- and the Kurdistan Workers´ Party (PKK).

Both the Gulen movement and the PKK are banned by Turkey as terror groups. Brunson, who has lived and worked in Turkey for over two decades, is also accused of espionage for political or military purposes.

When the prosecutor said Brunson should remain in jail, the pastor tearfully told the court: "What more should I say? I want to return to my home!" The judge agreed with the prosecution´s view and set the next trial hearing on July 18.

- ´I reject all PKK allegations´ - At Monday´s second hearing in the trial, which got underway on April 16, Brunson denied allegations made by a secret witness, named only as Serhat. The witness, who said he was Christian and appeared via video link with his face blurred, suggested Brunson´s church had been an intermediary for the PKK and a place where PKK insignia were displayed.