Last week, Enes Kanter was allegedly held at an airport in Romania after Turkey cancelled his passport due to his political beliefs.
Turkey has issued a warrant for Enes Kanter because he is a member of a “terror group,” according to AFP via Yahoo.
The Daily Sabah, a pro-government newspaper in Turkey, reported the warrant came following an investigation into Kanter’s alleged “membership of an armed terrorist organization,” being opened.
The investigation is connected to Kanter’s support of Fethullah Gullen who is one of the largest critics of the Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Gulen staged a failed coup of Erdogan last year. Kanter was disowned by his family due to his criticism of the Turkish government.
Additionally, the Swiss-born basketball player called Erdogan the “Hitler of this century.”
Turkey accuses Enes Kanter of using Bylock, an encrypted messaging application. Turkey alleges the app was created for use by Gulen supporters.
Kanter responded to the accusations on Twitter in Turkish:
"“You cannot catch me. Hahaha. Don’t waste your energy. I am already going to come to [Turkey] to spit on all of your ugly, hate-filled faces.”"
Last week, Kanter eventually was allowed to depart Romania for London. However, he received multiple death threats following the delay.
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According to ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk, he gave a press conference in which he hoped that he could become an American citizen:
"“Right now I am country-less, I am open to adoption definitely. I am going to try to become an American citizen. I have a green card. We will see if they can speed up the process a little bit. It would definitely be nice. Right now my next move is becoming an American citizen.”"
The Turkish prosecutor, according to Daily Sabah, told Interpol members of the arrest warrant. The 190 members were told that Turkey wanted Kanter to be deported to the justice ministry.