Earlier this week, Enes Kanter Freedom demonstrated in Strasbourg. The fallen Turkish basketball star came to take part in a rally outside the headquarters of the European Court of Human Rights to demand greater attention against rights abuses in Turkey. A thousand Turkish exiles, members, like him, of the brotherhood of Fethullah Gülen, demonstrated to denounce the purges and the hunt for “Gülenists” by the government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
31-year-old Enes Kanter, who measures 2.08 m, had to put his sports career on hold after being banned from the NBA, the American basketball championship, because of his political positions. Indeed, in parallel with his exploits on the courts, the former national prodigy has always used his media space to promote the movement of Fethullah Gülen, a Turkish imam exiled in the United States since 1999, ally of Recep Tayyip Erdogan until in 2012 before becoming its worst enemy and being accused of forming “a terrorist organization”. After the failed coup in 2016, Kanter was dropped from the Turkish national team and his Turkish passport cancelled. The basketball player obtained American citizenship in 2021 and changed his name, officially becoming Enes Kanter Freedom.
The Point: Your attacks on the Turkish and Chinese regimes got you kicked out of the NBA. What are you doing now ?
Enes Kanter Freedom: Right now I’m traveling around the world, meeting leaders, speaking in parliaments. I have conversations with senators and members of Congress to talk about human rights. So one of the things I try to do is to publicize all human rights violations. We want to know what they are actually doing to protect political prisoners in Turkey from human rights abuses. And I wanted to come and take part in this demonstration in Strasbourg. This initiative gives so much hope to families and all prisoners in Turkey. I wanted to participate in this beautiful peaceful demonstration. I always specify that it is peaceful because I know that the Turkish government will make its propaganda around this event.
What kind of impact do you hope to have on Turkey?
We must do everything in our power to pressure Erdogan’s regime to release political prisoners and to care about human rights and democracy, because Turkey is playing a role very important in the Middle East and in Europe, and it could be the bridge between Islam and the West. We must therefore do everything in our power to restore democracy. There are so many people suffering in Turkey: Kurds, Alevis, all groups are complaining about Erdogan’s regime. We must do all we can to help them. I try to be the voice of all those innocent people who have no voice, and we get a lot of support. That’s what senators and congressmen in Washington are asking me to do.
Why was it so important to change the name to Enes Kanter Freedom?
It was very important, because obviously this word “Freedom” is essential. I think that after air, water and food, freedom is the most important thing for human beings. I wanted it to become a part of me. And above all, when you play basketball, you are followed by millions of people [on social networks, editor’s note]. So you have an incredible opportunity to influence millions of children. So, yeah, it’s been amazing. You know, now people see me on the street and shout “freedom”!
No, Kanter just became like my middle name because I didn’t want to disrespect my family. I still have my Turkish origins. I want to make things clear, because sometimes when I talk about Turkey, when I criticize it, people misinterpret what I say. If I talk so much about Turkey, it’s because I love my country. I have no problem with my flag. The problem is with the current regime, but once the regime changes, you know, it’s our country. I would really like to go back there one day. My family still lives there.
What is your family’s situation?
I haven’t seen them for ten years now. My father was put in prison, then he got out. My parents are stuck in Turkey and unfortunately there is no way out for them as the government is holding them virtually hostage. But there are so many family situations worse than mine… Right now, thousands of families are separated. My parents are still alive, they weren’t kidnapped. I am grateful that they were not tortured in prisons.
Are you still a “terrorist” in the eyes of Turkey?
The only thing I terrorize is the basketball hoop. It makes people laugh when I say that, but it’s true. It’s so comical when the Turkish government issues a statement against me: I walk into a locker room and my teammates laugh because they say, “We know what kind of person you are. I talk about human rights violations and political prisoners in Turkey, that’s what led the Turkish government to call me a terrorist. So what kind of terrorist am I?
The Gülen movement is still accused of having attempted a coup?
So let me explain. When the coup happened, it was July 15, 2016. That evening, I was with Mr. Gülen, we were sitting in the same room. I remember one of his followers came to tell him the news: “Sir, a coup attempt is underway in Turkey. I was next to him and saw his face, he was very shocked. The first thing he did was to immediately ask all his supporters, all the students, to come together and pray for his country, because that day more than 250 innocent people died in the streets. . But two hours later, President Erdogan appeared and blamed Mr. Gülen and his supporters for the coup attempt.
The next day I went to Washington. I immediately began arranging meetings with senators, congressmen and even White House officials. They said to me, “We are going to investigate because the Turkish government is going to ask us to extradite you and Mr. Gülen to Turkey. And if we find evidence, we’ll kick you out. I told them I was confident and if they found anything I would buy my own ticket. Two months ago, I had a conversation with someone at the White House. They said that for the past seven years the Turkish government has not provided any evidence. They couldn’t find a single piece of evidence. But the Turks unfortunately believe in it, because Erdogan controls the media in Turkey and is therefore almost brainwashed.
Tell us why you finally stopped playing basketball.
I am not giving up because of Turkey, but because of China. The reason is that the NBA and China are doing lucrative business, and these businesses are bringing in billions of dollars. The NBA’s audiences in China are larger than in the United States. When someone like me speaks out about human rights abuses in China, China calls the NBA to tell them not to play me in those games anymore. I talked a lot about the discrimination experienced by Uyghurs in China when I was playing for the Boston Celtics. China canceled all Boston Celtics games on TV, costing the NBA millions of dollars. Team owners know that if they sign me, their games won’t be broadcast, their shirts won’t sell. Sales in China generate big profits. That’s why I don’t play basketball anymore.
Could you one day play in Europe?
I would like to play basketball in Europe because I’m 31 years old, I’m healthy, I’m in great shape. But the Turkish government has put a price on my head. So the US government didn’t want me to come here to play basketball. They thought it would be too dangerous and they wouldn’t be able to protect me. In the United States, I am in constant contact with the FBI and they are always looking after my safety. But apart from that, I don’t really have the right to stay in a country for more than four days. So I don’t think that’s happening.
Isn’t it sad to end a professional career this way?
Of course, I still love the game. But you know what? The NBA has been around for seventy-six years, and each year approximately 450 to 500 players play in the league. But none of them are nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, except me. All of this has opened so many doors for me!