TURKEY FULL OF BALONEY
Knicks star scoffs at Erdogan ‘terror’ slap
Knicks center Enes Kanter, accused as a gun-toting terrorist by Turkish prosecutors, quickly slam-dunked the bizarre allegation.
“The only thing I terrorize is the rim,” Kanter tweeted Wednesday as authorities in his homeland moved for the hoopster’s extradition to Turkey.
The Turkish prosecutors sought an Interpol “Red Notice” citing Kanter for his ties to exiled Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, according to the state news agency Anadolu.
Gulen was blamed for a failed 2016 coup against the regime of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Kanter was accused of providing him with financial support.
A “Red Notice” alerts Interpol member countries to be on the lookout for a wanted suspect — in this case, a bearded, 6-foot-11, 270pound NBA veteran seen regularly on U.S. television.
“I already have an arrest warrant on me,” Kanter told the Daily News via text. “This becomes a joke now, because whenever I start criticizing them heavily they issue a warrant on me — or something else, like the ‘Red Notice.’ ”
Kanter skipped the Knicks’ road trip to London for an international showdown Thursday against the Washington Wizards, expressing fears that he might be targeted for death by the Erdogan regime once outside the U.S.
Prosecutors further identified the outspoken Kanter as a “member of an armed terrorist organization,” the state news agency reported. Gulen, the group’s alleged leader, is a 77-year-old man living near tiny Saylorsburg, Pa. — population 1,126, and an unlikely outpost for revolution. The 26-year-old Kanter laughed off the charges leveled by the Erdogan regime, suggesting his nemesis could use some direction in his campaign against the nineyear NBA vet.
“I guess Dictator Erdogan should hire better PR firms to set his strategy — haha,” Kanter told The News via text. “He keeps calling people like me and Gulen as terrorists. Once you’re too off the target, you can’t nail it brother!”
Kantor provoked the wrath of Erdogan by once comparing him to Adolf Hitler, and continues to openly criticize and taunt the Turkish leader.
“Turkish Government can NOT present any single piece of evidence of my wrongdoing,” Kanter tweeted earlier Wednesday. “I don’t even have a parking ticket in the US. I have always been a law-abiding resident.”
He illustrated the tweet with an angel emoji.
Kanter has not left North America since spring 2017, when his Turkish passport was revoked and he was detained in Romania while on a world tour for his charitable foundation.
Hedge fund manager/human rights activist Bill Browder came quickly to Kanter’s support, dismissing the Erdogan move as a “flagrant abuse” of Interpol.
“Turkey seeks to arrest NBA player Enes Kanter for making disparaging remarks about Turkish President Erdogan,” said Browder. “Interpol should firmly and publicly rebuke this politically motivated abuse ASAP
The Turkish government has already targeted the second-year Knick’s father, arresting him last year on charges of terrorism. Mehmet Kanter faces a lengthy prison term if convicted.