Hostage – an institution that probably came into existence along with human civilization. Neither divine nor human laws succeeded in removing the institution from our society, otherwise human. There still has been some “progress” along with the development of our civilization. If a physical person takes someone into hostage these days, it is punishable, with a high penalty. And what about if a legal entity, such as a state, takes someone as a hostage?! The state is given a label of a slaver, the state of crime, and international sanctions against the state should come into force according to the international human laws. Erdogan’s Turkey excavated that institution out of their Osmanic safes, removed the dust from it, and started applying it on whichever European journalist or even an American citizen, and in case of European hostages they succeeded in enforcing all their requirements, and the European politicians bowed their heads to the Sultan who got the justifiable feeling that the institution can be used successfully even in the 21st century, even against the most powerful ones.

That is why Erdogan keeps another hostage in jail, even an American evangelical pastor!

Andrew Brunson, who – together with his wife – had worked in Turkey for more than a quarter of a century was accused of supporting Kurdish terrorism, it has happened only now, even if he had lived in the ancient Greek (now Turkish) city of Simirna (Izmir in Turkish) for more than a quarter of a century! The USA, instead of sanctioning Turkey for  unlawful taking the respectable clerical person into custody, continued backing away for as long as possible, until last week. Last week the USA finally came into understanding that Erdogan’s Turkey acts deceitfully, like in the Middle Ages, after the terms of the exchange of hostages were set, sometimes even in the presence of a third party or an institution, and the parties honestly followed the agreed terms. However, even the Trump’s administration (as well as the EU administrators) did not want to recognize that the adversary’s “ethics” are different, that the Turks’ “ethics” are of the Turko-Tatarian style, the “ethics” of nomadic nations, they have been sticking to the thousands –year- old principle that anything is allowed to survive.

Some time on the 11th or 12th last month there was a summit of NATO in Brussels where Trump probably talked with Erdogan about the purchase if the American citizen Pastor Brunson. Erdogan probably agreed with the exchange for a Turkish citizen, who had been investigated in Israeli jail for terrorism, Mrs. Ebru Özkan.

It seems that Trump, as the President of a democratic country, accepted the exchange and called the Israeli Prime minister Mr. Netanyahu, during the negotiations with Erdogan, and asked him for releasing Mrs. Ebru Özkan. In the following hours Mrs. Ebru Özkan was released and expelled to Turkey. And what about Erdogan’s promise?

Erdogan arranged releasing Pastor Andrew Brunson from prison – according to fabricated charge he could have been sentences for more than 30 years in prison– BUT he was given house arrest with the electronic bracelet…  and he was FORBIDDEN to leave Turkey! Mr. Donald Trump, who had trusted the oral promise, called Mr. Netanyahu immediately, and arranged for the immediate release of the Turkish terrorist Ebru Özkan, was given another long list of other conditions that could lead to releasing Pastor Brunson from house arrest and allowing him to leave Turkey! Trump was completely struck, he just could not understand that someone, who is a man, and pretends to be the president of the country that is the member of NATO, does not keep his promise. All that happened just because Mr. Trump did not know the Turko-Tatarian “ethics”! He was enraged. He called Erdogan on 14 July and it seems that he gave him an infuriated dressing down, and then, immediately, he informed the world on his twitter that sanctions would be imposed on Turkey!

Pastor Brunson has still been kept in house arrest, despite the huge pressure from the world and protests of the Evangelic Church!

After we get random information on the situation, should we, common citizens, believe that we have been living in democracy an with it in legal states, if the whole of Europe and the USA trade hostages with Turkey?

Should we still believe that jurisdiction is the third pillar of the democratic system?! Should we believe that in the situation when the judges from NATO member countries arrest and release citizens after the order made by such politicians like Erdogan?! Now that we know that the citizens’ fate has not been decided by judges but politicians who decide about people like they do about merchandise, and it is not happening in an African country but in the seat of the European civilization in Brussels or Washington D.C.?