Turkey Seeks Extradition Of Knicks Star, Report Says

NEW YORK, NY — The government of Turkey is increasing its efforts to prosecute Knicks player Enes Kanter, who faces jail time in his home country, according to reports.

Turkish officials recently announced the country will seek extradition of Kanter, 26, for his support of cleric Fethullah Gulen, who has been accused of fomenting a 2016 coup against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The Turkish government has labeled Gulen and his supporters as members of a terrorist organization, the Wall Street Journal reported. The cleric and supporters such as Kanter deny any involvement in terrorism of the failed coup against Erdoğan, according to the report.

Kanter said Wednesday on Twitter that the "Turkish Government can NOT present any single piece of evidence of my wrongdoing." The Knicks center added in a follow up Tweet featuring a GIF of him dunking: "The only thing I terrorize is the rim."

The Knicks are currently in London to play a game in the city's O2 Arena against the Washington Wizards. Kanter did not join the team, fearing that leaving the United States would leave him vulnerable to arrest. Instead, Kanter went down to Washington to discuss Turkey's government with politicians such as New York Sen. Chuck Schumer and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio.

Kanter's father, Dr. Mehmet Kanter, was detained in Turkey for five days in 2017 for suspected links to U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, the Associated Press reported. The Turkish government accused Gulen of organizing a failed military coup in 2016. Kanter's father is facing as much as 15 years in prison.

In May of 2017, Kanter was detained in Romania after his Turkish passport was canceled. Kanter detailed the ordeal in a series of messages and videos posted on his personal Twitter account. Kanter was held in the airport for hours with a police detail and claimed he was detained due to his political views.

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