Kanter says dad arrested in Istanbul
Even with his family’s future in doubt, Enes Kanter wants his voice to be heard.
Last week, back in the United States and free from the threat of extradition to Turkey, the 25-year-old Thunder center scoffed at the Turkish government issuing a warrant for his arrest. What the Turkish government could do, however, was pursue Kanter’s loved ones.
Kanter said Friday that his father, Mehmet Kanter, has been arrested in a raid of his family’s home in Istanbul. Computers were seized, documents taken, the house searched.
While devastated by the news passed
on to him by his younger brother in the U.S., Karem, and agent, Mevlut “Hilmi” Cinar, the undeterred Kanter took to social media.
In a Twitter post, Kanter announced the arrest, saying his father could “potentially get tortured.” He then, again, referred to Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan as “the Hitler of our century.”
Hours later, Kanter was on NBC Sports Radio, then a conference call with numerous media outlets, including The Oklahoman.
“After what happened in Romania and everything after I came back to America, and I went to all the shows and told the whole world what was going on, they were like ‘You know what? From now on, we don’t care. We’re just going to arrest your father,’” said Kanter of what he believes is happening. “‘We’re waiting for you to come back to Turkey. If not, we’re just going to keep your father in jail.’”
Kanter posted a statement Friday afternoon on his website, eneskanter11. com, in which he formally addressed the incident, saying Mehmet Kanter was arrested because “of my outspoken criticism of the ruling party.”
Since he joined the Thunder, Kanter hasn’t hid his disdain for the Turkish government, as well as his belief that it wants him to be quiet. Kanter is a supporter of Fethullah Gulen, an Islamic leader who has been living in exile in the United States for nearly 18 years in opposition to the Erdogan regime.
Kanter’s saga with his home country has stretched throughout his outspoken Thunder tenure.
On May 20, Kanter wasn’t allowed into Romania after he was informed his passport was canceled by the Turkish government. Collaboration between the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Thunder lawyers and the National Basketball Players Association worked to get Kanter from a Bucharest, Romania, airport to London, then to the U.S.
In August, Kanter’s parents disowned him. His father was quoted in The Daily Sabah — a publication frequently referred to as a “mouthpiece” for Turkey’s current regime — as saying Kanter was disowned for being affiliated with the Gulen Movement. Kanter has declined to go in-depth about being disowned, yet it’s widely believed severing the link between he and his parents would keep them from potential danger in Turkey.
Kanter said his father is supposed to meet with a judge Monday for “interrogation.” He’s expecting his mother to be arrested. He fears for another brother and sister who still live in Turkey. He hopes they can join him in the United States someday.
While the Turkish government can’t get to Kanter, it can seize those thought to be affiliated with him within Turkey.
“He made statements about Erdogan which undoubtedly upset the Turkish president,” said Joshua Landis, director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma. “What (Erdogan) is doing is letting Turks around the world know not to speak out against him.”
However, Kanter continued to speak out. He’s given no indication he’s going to stop.
“Of course not,” Kanter said. “I play in the NBA and that’s why people know my story. My dad is only one. There’s thousands of people out there. There’s all these people out there who are in jail.
“I have no idea what they’re going to do to my dad. I’m sure if I keep talking, soon they’re going to arrest my mom. But it’s not going to affect me. I understand that they’re my mom, my dad, my family, but there’s thousands of kids out there that have no mom and dad out there in Turkey, so I have to speak and let people know what’s going on.”