On Wednesday (Jan. 16), the Turkish government announced their efforts to seek an international arrest warrant for the extradition of New York Knicks centerĀ Enes Kanter.Ā
According to Turkey'sĀ Sabah newspaper, Kanter is accused of having ties toĀ the Hizmet movementĀ and providing financial funding to the groupĀ that allegedly organized aĀ failed 2016Ā coup. As a result, the Istanbul's chief prosecutorĀ isĀ seeking an INTERPOL "red notice"Ā that will force American authorites to arrest Kanter while his pending extradition is being processed. Yet, for this to be possible, the U.S. government would have to prove that Kanter was supporting Hizmet's illegal activities while living inside U.S. borders.
Kanter took to Twitter to deny the claims of his birth country and declare his innocence as a "law abiding citizen."
Kanter's fued with the Turkish governement began when he started to openly support Hizmet's exiled religous leaderĀ Fethullah Gulen before, during, and after the coup. This has led to several issues that even resulted in his Turkish passport being snatched.Ā It has also broughtĀ serious assassination threats thatĀ prevented Kanter from traveling to London with the Knicks. Now, KanterĀ is one ofĀ 80 Gulen sympathizers for which Turkey has beenĀ seekingĀ extradition since Nov. 2018.Ā
