US sanctions Turkish minister over pastor
The US has imposed sanctions on Turkey's justice and interior ministers over the continued detention of American pastor Andrew Brunson.
The evangelical from North Carolina has been held for nearly two years over alleged links to political groups.
"We believe he's a victim of unfair and unjust detention," White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said, according to BBC News.
Turkey has said US demands for Mr Brunson's release are "unacceptable", adding it will respond to "hostility".
"We call on the US administration to row back from this wrong decision," the Turkish foreign ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.
"Without delay, there will be a response to this aggressive attitude that will not serve any purpose," it continued.
Speaking to reporters earlier, Ms Sanders said: "We've seen no evidence that Pastor Brunson has done anything wrong."
She added that the two Turkish ministers had both played "leading roles" in the arrest of the US pastor.
"As a result, any property or interest in property of both ministers within US jurisdiction is blocked and US persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with them," she said.
Ms Sanders also said that President Trump had discussed the matter with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, "multiple times".
The US treasury department later said in a statement that Turkey's Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul and Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu were targeted because they "serve as leaders of Turkish government organisations responsible for implementing Turkey's serious human rights abuses".
Last week, President Trump warned Turkey it would face "large sanctions" if it did not release Mr Brunson immediately.
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