Turkish Government Attempting to Obtain Arrest Warrant For Enes Kanter
Turkish prosecutors have requested an international arrest warrant for New York Knicks big man, Enes Kanter. Kanter is being accused of being apart of a terrorist organization.
Instanbul’s chief prosecutor office has even prepared a request of extradition, according to Sabah, a newspaper in Turkey.
Kanter fired back on Twitter earlier today, saying the Turkish government did not have “any single piece of evidence of my wrongdoing.” The Knicks center did not travel with the team to London this week for a game for fear of his life.
Kanter has been in outspoken opposition of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. His passport was even revoked in 2017.
The reported news from the prosecutors is that they are going off of Kanter’s ties with Fethullah Gulen, who is listed as at fault for Turkey’s failed coup in 2016. They claim that Kanter is funding Gulen’s terrorist organization financially.
When announcing that he would not be traveling with the Knicks to play the Washington Wizards in the O2 Arena in London, Kanter said he was afraid of being assassinated if he left the United States or Canada.
At the time, the Knicks official press statement was that Kanter was dealing with visa issues.
Kanter quickly shut down their statement, proving on social media (with pictures) that he was safe to travel, but refused to in fear of the Turkish leader. He has even referred to Erdogan as “The Hitler of our century.”
“I don’t even have a parking ticket in the US”, Kanter said in response to the reports from earlier today that he is a member of a terrorist group.
The Knicks have a game tomorrow, but Kanter has been making the most of his time remaining in the states. According to his social media, he’s met with multiple United States congressmen. He also expounded on his decision to not travel to London and explained his choice to stand against Erdogan in a piece written and published to the Washington Post. In the article, he had this to say:
My decision not to travel to London was difficult from a competitive standpoint but much easier from a safety one. It helps puts a spotlight on how a dictator is wrecking Turkey — people have been killed, thousands are unjustly imprisoned, and countless lives have been ruined. That is no game.
