Oklahoma City Thunder center Enes Kanter, who has an arrest warrant out in his native Turkey claiming that he is part of a terrorist group, tweeted Friday morning that his father, Mehmet, has been arrested by the Turkish government.
He was detained by airport officials in Romania on May 20 after having his passport revoked by the Turkish government, but was able to return to the United States on May 22 with a green card.
Enes Kanter on Twitter
HEY WORLD MY DAD HAS BEEN ARRESTED by Turkish government and the Hitler of our century He is potentially to get tortured as thousand others
Kanter is an outspoken critic of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Last summer, Kanter’s father Mehmet told the Daily Sabah, a pro-government newspaper in Turkey, that his family had disowned his because of his political views.
“I apologize to the Turkish people and the president for having such a son,” Mehmet Kanter wrote.
Enes Kanter said recently that he has not spoken with his father in almost two years.
“Right now, even if I try to communicate with my parents, my mom or dad or brother or sister, [the government] will probably listen to their phones and as soon as they are in contact with me, they will put them in a jail — and the jails are not fun,” Kanter said at a news conference. “Right now, my family can’t even go out to eat. My brother told me that my dad went to the supermarket and they spit on his face.”
