Back in May, then-OKC Thunder center, Enes Kanter, was detained in Romania when the Turkish embassy cancelled his passport.
The Shadow League on Twitter
Enes Kanter is currently being detained in Romania and says that his native Turkey canceled his passport. https://t.co/ko70k7B7Kf
A few days later, Turkey issued a warrant for his arrest, claiming that he was part of a terrorist organization, a claim made mostly because he supported Fethullah Gulen, the leader of a movement trying to oust Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last year. Days after this news surfaced, Kanter was back in the news when he let everyone know that his father, Mehmet, had been arrested in Turkey.
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
After two straight weeks of drama for Kanter, things quieted down and he was eventually traded to the Knicks (16-14), where he has settled in nicely and is averaging 13.2 points and a career-high 9.8 rebounds per game. But the situation with the Turkish government was still simmering and today it bubbled up again as the AP is reporting that Turkish prosecutors are seeking a four-year prison sentence for the Knicks center “on charges of insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.”
The case, since he is the U.S., would be tried in absentia.
But Kanter isn’t sweating it at all according to Ian Bagley.
Ian Begley on Twitter
Enes Kanter says he isn’t worried about this indictment. One of his initial reactions: 4 years? That’s it? For all of the trash I’ve been talking? https://t.co/aiOyG5oKLn
The Knicks take on Boston at MSG on Thursday and by the sounds of it, Kanter expects to be on the floor that night.
