Turkey’s President Erdogan freezes assets of two US officials

BY Libyan Express Aug 04, 2018 - 15:08 Updated: Aug 04, 2018 - 20:15

Turkey’s President ordered the freezing of assets of two US officials, state media reported Saturday, days after the United States imposed sanctions on Turkey’s justice and interior ministers.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Ankara will freeze the assets in Turkey of US “justice and interior” secretaries, state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

It was not immediately clear which specific US officials he was referring to or whether the officials have any Turkish assets. The attorney general heads the Justice Department in the United States.

The US Treasury Department is sanctioning Turkey’s ministers of justice and interior in response to the detention of American pastor Andrew Brunson, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said Wednesday.

“We’ve seen no evidence that Pastor Brunson has done anything wrong,” Sanders said, calling his detention “unfair and unjust.”

The two officials will have any assets and properties under US jurisdiction blocked and Americans will be prohibited from engaging in financial transactions with them.

The US Treasury announced that the United States is sanctioning Turkish Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul and Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu over their roles in Brunson’s arrest and detention.

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