FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump addresses the Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons annual meeting at the White House in Washington, U.S., October 11, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump on Friday said he hoped U.S. Christian pastor Andrew Brunson would be home safe soon, shortly after a Turkish court ruled to release him after a two-year detention.

“My thoughts and prayers are with Pastor Brunson, and we hope to have him safely back home soon,” Trump wrote on Twitter.

A Turkish court passed a 3-year and 1-1/2 month sentence on Brunson, who had been charged with terrorism offenses, but said he would not serve any further time because he had already been detained since October 2016.