Turkey Puts $500K Bounty On Head Of Ex-NBA Player Enes Kanter Freedom, A Wanted Terrorist In Home Country

Enes Kanter Freedom, a former NBA centre, has a bounty placed on him by the Turkish government worth up to 10 million Turkish lira, or over $500,000, for information leading to his capture.

Turkey Puts $500K Bounty On Head Of Ex-NBA Player Enes Kanter Freedom, A Wanted Terrorist In Home Country

Freedom is listed as one of the nation’s top 20 most-wanted terrorists for 2023 because of his well-known outspokenness over the government of Erdogan’s Turkey’s violations of human rights. He claimed to have learned about the incentive a week ago in an interview with the New York Post.

According to Freedom, “Turkish intelligence was after the persons on the list before the bounty, but now everyone is after them because they want the money.”

Freedom also adds that he is considering legal action against the NBA, which he claims has blacklisted him as a result of his demonstrations against China.

“I’m awaiting the appropriate moment”, he remarked.

Throughout his NBA career, Freedom hasn’t been silent about his opinions of Erdogan, referring to him as a “dictator” and even going so far as to name him the “Hitler of our century.”

Freedom is listed as a terrorist along with actual terrorists, people who have criticised Erdogan and his administration, and numerous journalists. The number of journalists imprisoned has risen just in the last year.

“Because of my platform, whenever I say something, it goes everywhere, and the Turkish government hates that,” Freedom told the Post. “They’re really sick of it, and they said, ‘Enough is enough,’ and doing whatever they can to shut me up.”

As a result of Freedom’s advocacy for the rights of people everywhere, Turkey added him to its list of terrorists and placed a price on his head.

American citizen Freedom has vehemently defended the rights of Uyghurs and other oppressed people all across the world while simultaneously criticising the NBA’s interactions with China.

Freedom is referred to as a member of a terrorist organisation on the website of the Turkish Interior Ministry.

“I’m not the only one, either. On this list, there are a lot of good journalists, scholars, athletes, activists, and teachers. Because of the Turkish government, their lives are now at risk”, Freedom told Turkish Minute.

Freedom, who presently resides in Washington, D.C., claimed that he is under continual protection and in communication with both the FBI and local law enforcement.

Freedom thinks the NBA has blacklisted him because he defended human rights and criticised the league. He played in 35 games and averaged 3.7 points and 4.6 rebounds per game during his final NBA season with the Boston Celtics in 2021–2022. He played in the NBA for 13 seasons in total.

 

 

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