Oklahoma City Thunder center Enes Kanter is currently being withheld in Romania, due to the Turkish Embassy revoking his passport.
Thunder center Enes Kanter is currently being detained in Romania, due to the fact the Turkish Embassy reportedly revoked his passport. Kanter was on his way back from a global tour for one of his foundations. Kanter took to Twitter by posting a photo with the hashtag “Free Enes,” and also explained the situation in this video:
Kanter believes the Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is the one behind all of this and he directed the Embassy to “cancel” the passport. Kanter has been very critical of the Turkish President Erdogan, and has not been very secretive about it. Kanter explains in his video how Erdogan has attacked people in the United States, and even went as far as calling him “the Hitler of our century.”
Kanter has been a supporter of Fethullah Gulen, the face of the “Gulen Movement.” It has caused a lot of issues and controversies in Turkey, and his support of Gullen may have also led to his passport being revoked. Kanter, who was once beloved by his home nation of Turkey, is now one of the most unpopular people in the country.
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Kanter’s family took to a Turkish newspaper last summer and essentially disowned him because of his hatred toward Edrogan. Kanter stated that “My own father asked me to change my surname.” Kanter was even left off the Turkish National team, even though he was one of their best players. The Thunder have stated they are trying to gather more information about the situation.