Enes Kanter says father was arrested by Turkish government
Oklahoma City Thunder center Enes Kanter says his father has been arrested by the Turkish government, a week after the country reportedly issued a warrant for his own arrest.
A Turkish judge issued a warrant for Kanter’s arrest after investigation to his alleged association with separatist leader Fethullah Gulen.
Gulen was accused of attempting to stage a coup to overthrow president Recep Tayyip Erdogan last July. Kanter was being investigated for “membership [in] an armed terrorist organisation,” as Turkish officials phrased it.
Kanter likened Erdogan to Adolf Hitler and did so again on Friday via social media after he said his father was arrested.
"MY DAD HAS BEEN ARRESTED by Turkish government and the Hitler of our century," Kanter wrote. "He is potentially to get tortured as thousand others."
Kanter was detained in Romania last month after the cancelation of his Turkish passport, for what Kanter says was his criticism of Erdogan’s government. Kanter returned to the United States and says he wants to be an American citizen.
