Boston Celtics center Enes Kanter has reason to rejoice after hearing his father was released from Turkish prison. Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports

Celtics' Enes Kanter says father is out of Turkish prison

By Zac Wassink | Last updated Jun 19, 2020 2:43 PM ET

On Friday morning, Boston Celtics center Enes Kanter tweeted that his father was released from a prison in Turkey after seven years:

1) Wow!
I could cry
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.
— Enes Kanter (@EnesKanter) June 19, 2020

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

As ESPN's Tim Bontemps explained, Kanter, who first began his NBA career during the 2011-12 season, has long been an outspoken opponent of the authoritarian Turkish government led by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Bontemps added that Kanter's Turkish passport was revoked in 2017 and that the big man once feared to leave the United States due to the possibility that he could be deported back to Turkey.

According to Bleacher Report's Adam Wells, Kanter's father, Dr. Mehmet Kanter, was sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2018 after he was charged with "membership in a terror group" because of an alleged relationship with Fethullah Gulen, who was held responsible for a failed coup in 2016.

Zac Wassink

Zac Wassink is a longtime sports news writer and PFWA member who began his career in 2006 and has had his work featured on Yardbarker, MSN, Yahoo Sports and Bleacher Report. He is also a football and futbol aficionado who is probably yelling about Tottenham Hotspur at the moment and who chanted for Matt Harvey to start the ninth inning of Game 5 of the 2015 World Series at Citi Field. You can find him on X at @ZacWassink

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