Portland Trail Blazers center Enes Kanter, who is of Turkish descent, has been extremely outspoken in regards to criticizing the autocratic and authoritarian leadership of Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
As such, President Erdogan has issued public calls for Kanter to be arrested (or worse), which has led Kanter to not be able to leave the United States without fear of retribution.
Now, Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon has issued a direct letter to Secretary of State Ron Pompeo to request that the current U.S. Administration address the matters of Kanter’s safety as well as the attack on free thought and expression perpetrated by President Erdogan. The full letter was posted by Kanter on Twitter:
🖤❤️ pic.twitter.com/u5ekonjPPA
— Enes FREEDOM (@EnesFreedom) March 9, 2019
According to the letter from Senator Wyden, “The Erdogan administration revoked Mr. Kanter's passport in 2017 and accused him of associating with terrorists for his support of Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish cleric living in the United States.”
The letter continues: “This is a serious charge but given President Erdogan's history one must be extremely skeptical of the Turkish government line without seeing some substantial evidence. And thus far, President Erdogan has declined to publicize any substantial evidence. Taking a page out of Vladimir Putin's playbook, President Erdogan has instead demanded that INTERPOL, an international police organization, issue a “red notice” for Mr. Kanter.”
Enes Kanter was waived by the New York Knicks earlier this season and signed by the Blazers for the stretch run of the regular season. Portland currently sits with the 5th-best record in the tightly contested Western Conference, though only one game separates them from the No.3 seed.
Follow Us
Subscribe