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Tim BontempsESPN
Boston Celtics center Enes Kanter tweeted Friday morning that his father had been released from prison in his native Turkey seven years after he was originally arrested by the country’s authoritarian government.
“Wow! I could cry,” Kanter wrote. “Today I found out that 7 years after arresting my dad, taking him through a Kangaroo court and accusing him of being a criminal just because he is my dad.”
“MY DAD HAS BEEN RELEASED! This is due to the pressure we have put on the Turkish regime.”
Kanter, who has been an outspoken critic of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, went on to post two more tweets about it.
2) They no longer could keep him from his freedom because of the spotlight that we all put on this case!
However! He is just one person, there are still tens of thousands of people wrongfully in jail in Turkey.
I will not forget you, we will not forget you!
— Enes Kanter (@EnesKanter) June 19, 2020
3) This proves that the voice of the people will always push Dictators to do the right thing in the end.
Don’t be scared to stand for what is right, always and always,
Stand for FREEDOM
Stand for DEMOCRACY
Stand for HUMAN RIGHTS— Enes Kanter (@EnesKanter) June 19, 2020
Kanter declined to comment further, saying he was still gathering information about what happened.
Kanter has clashed with the Turkish government for years, to the point where his Turkish passport was canceled in 2017, and he fears leaving America over the prospect of being deported to Turkey. He played his first game outside the country in years on Christmas Day, when the Celtics won in Toronto against the defending champion Raptors.
Turkish prosecutors have previously sought an international arrest warrant for Kanter, citing his ties to exiled Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, who the country’s government blames for a failed coup in 2016.
Back in October, Kanter tweeted about he and Celtics rookie Tacko Fall being harassed outside of a mosque in Boston, which he said at the time was being done by supporters of Erdogan.
Hello Everyone!#DictatorErdogan @RTErdogan thugs attacked and threatened me today after Friday prayer in Boston at a mosque
Turkish Government don’t even let me practice my religion freely in America let alone my freedom of speech is under attack@FBI@FBIBoston@bostonpolice pic.twitter.com/FH2Ixe6QcY
— Enes Kanter (@EnesKanter) October 4, 2019
“No, what I’m doing is huge because I’m talking about human rights,” Kanter said the next day, before the Celtics held their annual open practice for fans at TD Garden. “I’m talking about democracy, freedom, freedom of speech, religion and expression. I’m talking about justice.
“So, just because I’m talking about these issues and that stuff, I’m going to get threats? [Then] I’ll take that. I’ll be OK having security next to me 24/7. But those issues that I’m talking about are way bigger than myself and basketball.”
Both Kanter and Celtics guard Marcus Smart recently attended a Black Lives Matter protest at Boston Commons.
Kanter, who is averaging 8.2 points and 7.7 rebounds per game this season, tweeted Monday that he will be eligible to officially become a U.S. citizen on June 15, 2021.
As the NBA continues to prepare to attempt to restart its season late next month at Walt Disney World, Kanter and the rest of the Celtics are scheduled to return to Boston by Monday in order to begin individual workouts.