The American pastor at the centre of a bitter diplomatic rift between Washington DC and Ankara is traveling back to the US after a Turkish court ordered his release following two years in detention. Witnesses in the courtroom in the western town of Izmir said Andrew Brunson wept as the decision was announced on Friday. “I am an innocent man. I love Jesus, I love Turkey,” he had earlier told the court.

The surprise release of Brunson – who had been held on terrorism charges related to the failed 2016 military coup – suggests US-Turkey relations are thawing as Ankara seeks US help in investigating the disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul last week. After the ruling, Donald Trump – who has made the case a foreign policy priority – wrote on Twitter that his “thoughts and prayers” were with Brunson, before posting in an all-caps tweet that the US pastor would be home soon.(theguardian)…[+]