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Trial against US pastor resumes

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — The trial of a U.S. pastor who is accused of aiding terror groups and engaging in espionage has resumed in a town in western Turkey.

Andrew Craig Brunson, a 50-year-old evangelical pastor from Black Mountain, North Carolina, was arrested in the aftermath of a 2016 coup attempt for alleged links to outlawed Kurdish rebels, as well as a network led by U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom Turkey blames for the unrest. Brunson, who faces up to 35 years in prison, denies the charges.

The third hearing in the case that has strained Turkish-US relations opened in Aliaga today.

U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted in Brunson’s defense earlier in the year, saying: “They call him a Spy, but I am more a Spy than he is.”

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