10/31/2018: Update on this blog:
Pastor Andrew Brunson was released by Turkish authorities and has returned to the United States.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Republic of Turkey
August 15, 2018
Re: Fethullah Gulen and Andrew Brunson Negotiations
Dear President Erdogan:
I write to you on behalf of the United States’ citizen and Turkish prisoner, Mr. Andrew Brunson. To be clear, I have never met Mr. Brunson, nor do I have any type of association with his relatives, associates, or business dealings in or out of Turkey.
What I do have Mr. President, and have for the past 10 years, is a vested interest in seeing Fethullah Gulen extradited back to Turkey and put on trial. Unlike many United States’ politicians, I have absolutely no doubt the Mr. Gulen is a dangerous and insidious threat to both Turkey and the United States.
Ten years ago, I had absolutely no idea who Fethullah Gulen was, and frankly, wish I never had found out. However, as you know, I was teaching at one of his schools in Ohio and met my husband, who at the time and unknown to me, was affiliated with the Gulen Movement. It was only after our marriage did I discover the machinations of the Movement and their criminal activities, including forcing my husband to return a substantial portion of is salary and tax returns to the Movement.
After I found out the various criminal activities that the Gulenists were engaged in at the United States’ schools, my husband and I collected evidence of those activities and we gave the evidence to various United States federal agencies for investigation. We have likewise since provided that same evidence to your government.
I am quite sure that you are aware of the rest of our story and what the Gulenists did to us in retaliation for turning them into government authorities. My husband and I suffered employment and financial losses, he was falsely jailed in Turkey after being set up by the Gulenists and could not return to the United States for two years while he went through the judicial process and was finally exonerated. My husband’s family members in Turkey were harassed at the jobs until they were forced to quit. Because of my intervention, my reputation as well as my teaching career was forever tarnished.
Let me get to the reason why I am writing to you. I realize of course that I am merely just one United States’ citizen and have absolutely no political prowess, but I believe strongly that if you were to negotiate the release of Mr. Brunson and allow him to return to the United States that President Trump’s administration and his newly appointed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo would likely work more diligently and in your favor to extradite Fethullah Gulen. This of course is only speculation as I have no direct connection to the Administration or Secretary of State Pompeo.
As I have said, I do not know Mr. Brunson and whether he remains in Turkey is of little concern to me, other than he is apparently being used as a political leveraging tool.
However, the fact that Fethullah Gulen and his followers continue to pillage the United States’ coffers, and exploiting our educational system for their personal gain, is of course a major issue to me. Likewise, you have “a dog in the fight,” so to speak because you also want him out of the United States and sent back to Turkey to stand trial for treason.
So, sir, I would ask that you carefully consider my request and release Mr. Brunson in the hope that the United States and its newly appointed Secretary of State Pompeo would value and reward your “no strings attached,” protocol and help work towards expediting Gulen’s extradition.
I have been a long- time supporter of yours and a long- time antagonist of Gulen, and I strongly believe that an act as simple as Mr. Brunson’s release would carry more weight in your efforts to extradite Gulen than anything else at this time. At the very least – it would demonstrate to the United States government that you are a fair man and willing to negotiate.
Sir, I have done everything in my power as a lone person to bring down Gulen’s Movement and criminal activities, and to date have made little if any impact. However, you – as the President of Turkey can, but you must be willing to give a little in order to receive the big prize – Gulen's extradition.
Thank you for taking the time to read my correspondence and it is my hope that you will earnestly consider my request. We both have the same end goal – to get Fethullah Gulen out of the United States and extradited back to Turkey.
Sincerely,
Mary Addi
Pastor Andrew Brunson was released by Turkish authorities and has returned to the United States.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Republic of Turkey
August 15, 2018
Re: Fethullah Gulen and Andrew Brunson Negotiations
Dear President Erdogan:
I write to you on behalf of the United States’ citizen and Turkish prisoner, Mr. Andrew Brunson. To be clear, I have never met Mr. Brunson, nor do I have any type of association with his relatives, associates, or business dealings in or out of Turkey.
What I do have Mr. President, and have for the past 10 years, is a vested interest in seeing Fethullah Gulen extradited back to Turkey and put on trial. Unlike many United States’ politicians, I have absolutely no doubt the Mr. Gulen is a dangerous and insidious threat to both Turkey and the United States.
Ten years ago, I had absolutely no idea who Fethullah Gulen was, and frankly, wish I never had found out. However, as you know, I was teaching at one of his schools in Ohio and met my husband, who at the time and unknown to me, was affiliated with the Gulen Movement. It was only after our marriage did I discover the machinations of the Movement and their criminal activities, including forcing my husband to return a substantial portion of is salary and tax returns to the Movement.
After I found out the various criminal activities that the Gulenists were engaged in at the United States’ schools, my husband and I collected evidence of those activities and we gave the evidence to various United States federal agencies for investigation. We have likewise since provided that same evidence to your government.
I am quite sure that you are aware of the rest of our story and what the Gulenists did to us in retaliation for turning them into government authorities. My husband and I suffered employment and financial losses, he was falsely jailed in Turkey after being set up by the Gulenists and could not return to the United States for two years while he went through the judicial process and was finally exonerated. My husband’s family members in Turkey were harassed at the jobs until they were forced to quit. Because of my intervention, my reputation as well as my teaching career was forever tarnished.
Let me get to the reason why I am writing to you. I realize of course that I am merely just one United States’ citizen and have absolutely no political prowess, but I believe strongly that if you were to negotiate the release of Mr. Brunson and allow him to return to the United States that President Trump’s administration and his newly appointed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo would likely work more diligently and in your favor to extradite Fethullah Gulen. This of course is only speculation as I have no direct connection to the Administration or Secretary of State Pompeo.
As I have said, I do not know Mr. Brunson and whether he remains in Turkey is of little concern to me, other than he is apparently being used as a political leveraging tool.
However, the fact that Fethullah Gulen and his followers continue to pillage the United States’ coffers, and exploiting our educational system for their personal gain, is of course a major issue to me. Likewise, you have “a dog in the fight,” so to speak because you also want him out of the United States and sent back to Turkey to stand trial for treason.
So, sir, I would ask that you carefully consider my request and release Mr. Brunson in the hope that the United States and its newly appointed Secretary of State Pompeo would value and reward your “no strings attached,” protocol and help work towards expediting Gulen’s extradition.
I have been a long- time supporter of yours and a long- time antagonist of Gulen, and I strongly believe that an act as simple as Mr. Brunson’s release would carry more weight in your efforts to extradite Gulen than anything else at this time. At the very least – it would demonstrate to the United States government that you are a fair man and willing to negotiate.
Sir, I have done everything in my power as a lone person to bring down Gulen’s Movement and criminal activities, and to date have made little if any impact. However, you – as the President of Turkey can, but you must be willing to give a little in order to receive the big prize – Gulen's extradition.
Thank you for taking the time to read my correspondence and it is my hope that you will earnestly consider my request. We both have the same end goal – to get Fethullah Gulen out of the United States and extradited back to Turkey.
Sincerely,
Mary Addi