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Turkish NBA star back in U.S. after Turkey cancels passport
Thomson Reuters
By Gina Cherelus
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S.-based Turkish basketball player Enes Kanter was back in the United States on Monday and poised to speak publicly about being detained after his Turkish passport was canceled because of what he described as his "political views."
The NBA star, who plays for Oklahoma City Thunder, was refused entry into Romania on Saturday because his travel documents had been canceled by Turkey, Kanter said in a post on Twitter.
"You know because the reason behind it is just, of course, my political views," Kanter said in an accompanying video, speaking in English.
Later Monday at a news conference, Kanter is expected to discuss what he has contended is retaliation for his long-time support of Pennsylvania-based preacher Fethullah Gulen, whose extradition Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan is seeking in relation for a failed coup last July.
Kanter said last year he had severed ties with his family and pledged allegiance to Gulen after Turkish media published a letter signed by Kanter's father, disowning his son.
During the coup attempt, rogue soldiers in warplanes and tanks tried to seize power in Turkey in a plot that killed more than 240 people. Gulen, who has lived in self-imposed exile since 1999, has denied involvement.
After he was refused entry at Romania's Bucharest airport, Kanter flew to London.
Kanter, who turned 25 on Saturday, returned to the United States on Sunday, posting on Twitter: "Hello. The most beautiful country in the world. The United States of America."
During Erdogan's most recent U.S. visit to meet with President Donald Trump, a street brawl broke out between protesters and Turkish security personnel in Washington, D.C.
Washington's police chief called the incident last week outside the Turkish ambassador's residence a "brutal attack" on peaceful protesters, and the U.S. State Department voiced its "strongest possible" concern to the Turkish government.
(Additional reporting by Barbara Goldberg; Editing by Bernadette Baum)
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