Aliaga, Turkey (CNN) American pastor Andrew Brunson, released after being detained in Turkey for two years, has landed at Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany, a senior US administration official said Friday night.

Brunson is expected to spend a brief time at Ramstein before flying to Washington on Saturday, a White House spokesman said. Speaking at a rally in Ohio, President Trump said he plans to meet with Brunson.

Brunson had been charged with helping to plot a coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. A Turkish court on Friday sentenced Brunson to three years and one month in prison, but chose to release him based on his time already served, as well as his manner during the proceedings, his lawyer said. Prosecutors were seeking a 10-year jail term.

After his release, Brunson quickly left his home in Izmir, Turkey, and headed to the airport. Two US defense officials said the US had put a military aircraft on standby from Europe to transport Brunson out of Turkey. The senior administration source said Brunson's wife flew with him.

The case had soured relations between Turkey and the United States, heightened by Trump's defense of Brunson as his administration elevated religious freedom as a cause.

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