Turkey convicts, frees US pastor
(WorldNews Turkey)

IZMIR, Turkey - A Turkish court on Friday convicted an American pastor of terror links but released him from house arrest and allowed him to leave the country, a move that´s likely to ease tensions between Turkey and the United States. The court near the western city of Izmir sentenced North Carolina native Andrew Brunson to three years, one month and 15 days in prison for allegedly helping terror groups. But since the 50-year-old evangelical pastor had already spent nearly two years in detention, Turkish law allowed him to remain free with time served. An earlier charge of espionage against him was dropped. Brunson, a native of North Carolina whose detention had sparked a diplomatic dispute...