President Joseph Biden's pledge to put democracy and human rights at the center of American foreign policy faces an early test Friday in Turkey, a NATO ally that has become increasingly authoritarian over the past decade. Passing this test is crucial given that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's repressive rule poses a danger not just for American interests, but also for American citizens, CNBC reported.

Biden has an immediate opportunity to change course and show support for democratic values in Turkey. On Friday, an Istanbul court resumes its high-profile show trial targeting the prominent Turkish American academic Henri Barkey and the leading Turkish philanthropist and civil society figure Osman Kavala. The men are being tried on charges of committing espionage and aiding the 2016 coup attempt in Ankara. If convicted, they face life sentences.

The seriousness of the charges belies the complete lack of the evidence behind them. With its baseless indictment and denial of due process for the defendants, the entire prosecution is a charade, carried out by a judiciary that is increasingly under the control of the presidency. It is also the latest in a flurry of politically motivated criminal proceedings against US citizens and employees in Turkey in recent years. Biden should raise the case directly with Erdoğan and convey that continuing this unjust prosecution targeting an American citizen will damage U.S.-Turkey ties.

U.S. officials may prefer to avoid prioritizing this case in their agenda with Ankara. They might worry that raising this issue at the highest levels will only antagonize Turkey, weakening U.S. influence with a long-standing strategic partner that is increasingly straying from NATO and toward the orbit of U.S. adversaries like Russia and China. Others might argue that addressing Turkey's disruptive regional behavior, such as threatening Greece and Cyprus with its navy in the Eastern Mediterranean, should take priority.

But it would be a mistake to believe that standing up for democratic values and for American citizens will undermine U.S. leverage or that Erdoğan's domestic repression is unconnected to his aggression abroad. Turkey will act as an effective member of the transatlantic alliance only when it respects the values for which the alliance stands. Biden should make it clear to Erdoğan that respect for the rule of law and an end to state-fostered anti-Americanism are nonnegotiable prerequisites for a better U.S.-Turkish relationship.

Washington has too often looked away when Erdoğan has scapegoated the United States to deflect blame for Turkey’s political, economic and diplomatic crises. Yesterday, the State Department took an important step to counter such polemics and publicly denounced Turkey’s assertions about U.S. involvement in the 2016 coup attempt. But that isn’t enough. The U.S. must also speak up clearly about cases like that of Barkey and Kavala, which uses such theories as a basis to prosecute Turkish and American citizens