On the current days of the Feast of the Sacrifice holiday in Turkey, police and security forces in İzmir have beefed up security around the house of American Pastor Andrew Brunson, who is under house arrest, according to Hürriyet newspaper of the country.

Police and security forces are overseeing the street where the pastor’s home is located.

Law enforcement is inspecting suspicious passers-by and vehicles.

Turkish media had reported that the US may use force to have Brunson released.

The Brunson affair has caused tension between Ankara and Washington. Turkish authorities accuse Pastor Andrew Brunson of espionage, assisting the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)—which is banned in Turkey, and the plotters of the deadly coup attempt in Turkey July 2016.

He is facing up to 35 years in prison.

Washington, however, believes that Brunson is innocent, and his arrest and trial have political motives.