ANKARA, Turkey — Turkish prosecutors are seeking an international arrest warrant for New York Knicks player Enes Kanter, accusing him of membership in a terror organization.
Sabah newspaper says the Istanbul chief prosecutor’s office had also prepared an extradition request for the NBA player. Officials at the prosecutor’s office could not be reached for comment.
Sabah says prosecutors are seeking an Interpol “Red Notice” citing Kanter’s ties to Fethullah Gulen, who is blamed for a failed coup in 2016, and accusing him of providing financial support to his group. Gulen is living in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania since 1999, and each successive United States administration has not honored Turkey’s request for extradition citing a lack of evidence.
Turkish Government can NOT present any single piece of evidence of my wrongdoing. 🤷♂️
— Enes FREEDOM (@EnesFreedom) January 16, 2019
I don’t even have a parking ticket in the US 😂 (True)
I have always been a law-abiding resident. 😇 https://t.co/DxLgvFcTST
Earlier this month, Kanter refused to travel to London for a regular-season NBA game taking place this week, saying he feared he could be assassinated for his opposition to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Kanter’s Turkish passport was revoked in 2017 while he was abroad and it took the efforts of American diplomats and the NBA to get him back to the USA.
