Oklahoma City center player Ener Kanter said Monday that he was receiving routine death threats for his criticism of the government of his native Turkey and that he could request an expedited process to obtain US citizenship.
Kanter was detained at an airport in Romania this weekend by customs officials who explained that his passport had been canceled by the Turkish authorities. Kanter was eventually able to leave for London and then New York, after agents of the US Department of Homeland Security intervened in his favor.
Kanter held a press conference in New York on Monday and said he was subjected to two new death threats earlier in the day. He has long criticized the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whom he has repeatedly compared to Adolf Hitler. He says, in particular, that a failed coup last year was actually staged by Erdogan’s government.
“It’s definitely crazy right now,” Kanter said to media. “I call it the fake coup attempt. Last year, they did a fake coup attempt themselves, so they can control everything. So right now, Erdogan’s government is controlling the army, controlling the police, controlling judges, and controlling journalists, everything.” he added.
Kanter starts to support for Fethullah Gulen, wgo opposes Erdogan. He had admitted that he had feared being sent back to Turkey when he was detained in Romania and added that he had not spoken to his parents or other relatives in Turkey for more than a year.
“There is no democracy. No freedom of expression or religion. It’s gone crazy,” Kanter said. Now, even if I tried to communicate with my parents, my mother, my father, my brother or my sister, they would probably be under hearing ass soon as they were in contact with me, they would be sent to jail. And prisons are not a part of fun, of course.”
Ener Kanter has one game in Canada this season, but it will be hard for him without a passport to enter Canada. (Source:www.wric.com)
The Oklahoma City center has a permanent resident card in the US, but no passport, which is problematic in many respects. He had several international trips planned for this summer on behalf of his foundation, and he may not be able to enter Canada without passport, which is problematic in considering that the NBA Thunder club is playing one game per season in Toronto.
