A bipartisan group of US senators on Thursday moved to block Turkey from receiving F-35 Lightning II fighters over the imprisonment of an American pastor, Andrew Brunson, according to The Hill,

Senators James Lankford (R-Okla.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) introduced a bill to prevent the transfer of the F-35 to Turkey and to block Ankara’s role as a maintenance depot for the aircraft.

Under the US-led, multinational Joint Strike Fighter program, Turkey has committed to buy 116 of the F-35A variant.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan “has continued down a path of reckless governance and disregard for the rule of law,” making the transfer of sensitive F-35 technology to his government “increasingly risky,” Lankford said in a statement. “Turkey’s strategic decisions regrettably fall more and more out of line with, and at times in contrast to, US interests.”

Tillis, meanwhile, said “The Erdogan government should understand that [the US] Congress will pursue measures to protect the interests of American citizens, including stopping the transfer of F-35 aircraft to Turkey.”