Enes Kanter says father has been released from Turkish prison

Enes Kanter has had numerous problems with the leaders of his home nation of Turkey, and that feud led to his father being arrested by the Turkish government and jailed several years ago. Now, it would appear Kanter’s father has finally been set free.

Kanter tweeted on Friday that his father, Mehmet, has been released by Turkish authorities after being dragged through “a Kangaroo court” for seven years. The Boston Celtics big man said the decision to release his dad was the result of “the pressure we have put on the Turkish regime.”

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

Kanter has been openly critical of Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan. His outspokenness has led to passport issues in the past, and Kanter even skipped a trip to London with the New York Knicks last year out of fear that Erdogan would arrange to have him killed.

Interestingly enough, Kanter’s father and other members of his family disowned the 28-year-old over his political views. Mehmet Kanter wrote a letter to the Turkish government apologizing for his sons actions and saying he believes Enes has been “hypnotized.” You can read more about that here.