Enes Kanter has been dealt with a serious blow, as the Turkish government have issued an arrest warrant against him, for allegedly being involved in armed and terrorist group activities.
According to the warrant, Kanter was involved with the armed group that was behind the failed 2016 coup.
Kanter has obviously denied all allegations, claiming that they are baseless.
He then even took to Twitter to address the situation and also take a massive dig at the Turkish government.
Enes Kanter hasn't talked to his parents in about 3 years. His father disowned him. He can't really leave the US. He desperately awaits US citizenship. A story on Kanter & a reminder there is more than just a missed Knicks game & beef w/ Hedo Turkoglu here https://t.co/HWPNu9O4sd
— Mike Vorkunov (@MikeVorkunov) January 8, 2019
“Turkish Government can NOT present any single piece of evidence of my wrongdoing. I don’t even have a parking ticket in the US. I have always been a law-abiding resident.” Kanter tweeted when the news of his arrest warrant broke out.
Turkish Government can NOT present any single piece of evidence of my wrongdoing. 🤷♂️
I don’t even have a parking ticket in the US 😂 (True)
I have always been a law-abiding resident. 😇 https://t.co/DxLgvFcTST
— Enes Kanter (@Enes_Kanter) January 16, 2019
He then also posted a video of him dunking, with the caption, “The only thing I terrorise is the ring”.
The only thing I terrorize is the rim 😂 pic.twitter.com/T9mk3bkzKR
— Enes Kanter (@Enes_Kanter) January 16, 2019
Kanter and the Turkish government have been at odds for sometime now, with Kanter not holding back while calling his President a ‘dictator’.
Turkey is now seeking an arrest warrant for New York Knicks player Enes Kanter, accusing him of membership in a terror organization.
In 2017, we spoke to him on why he isn’t backing down from criticizing Erdoğan. pic.twitter.com/oUur9iXjre
— VICE News (@vicenews) January 16, 2019
Today I had the honor of meeting with @Enes_Kanter to discuss human rights abuses in #Turkey under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Moved by this young man’s bravery in standing up for the rights of his fellow Turkish citizens. pic.twitter.com/FZUZuhI2M6
— Senator Rubio Press (@SenRubioPress) January 15, 2019
Moreover, Kanter has refused to travel with his team to London for an NBA game on 17 January, for the fear of being assassinated by the Turkish government.
Enes Kanter skipping NBA London game over assassination fearshttps://t.co/T3kNiATp9T pic.twitter.com/daKbiD4WUV
— Mirror Sport (@MirrorSport) January 16, 2019
“There’s a chance that I can get killed out there,” Kanter said.
Kanter’s Turkish passport has been cancelled, and he currently holds a US green card. Kanter can live and work in the US thanks to that green card.
Now, it will be interesting to see how the entire saga pans out, especially after the warrant issued by the Turkish government. As far as the US government is concerned, we’ll have to wait and see how they react to possible ‘terrorist’ claims made by the Turkish government and what kind of procedure is deployed.
Knicks too will want the situation to be cleared as soon as possible so that Kanter can focus on important things here in New York.
