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FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images
Former NBA center Enes Kanter Freedom said the Turkish government was providing $500,000 for information leading to his arrest.
In an interview with The New York Post’s Ricky Schrott, Freedom said he learned about the bounty last week when his name was included in Turkey’s Most Wanted Terrorists of 2023.
“It’s very dangerous,” he told Shrott. I’m chasing them because they’re here.”
Freedom added that he is “protected 24/7” but wants to speak up now as there are other names on the list.
“There are so many journalists, so many activists, so many athletes, and they are not as famous as I am. They are a much easier target.
Freedom has long been outspoken in opposition to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. His NBA veteran of 11 years called Erdogan “the Hitler of our century” in 2017. say it He was stopped at a Romanian airport and held by police officers because the Turkish embassy canceled his passport.
A Romanian border police spokesman told CNN’s Steve Almasy that Freedom was arrested but was not detained and was able to move freely around the airport. Almasy said he eventually left on a flight to London and arrived in the United States a day later.
In November 2021, Freedom became a US citizen and legally changed his name to Enes Kanter Freedom.
Freedom, a free agent since being fired by the Houston Rockets in February 2022, believes the NBA is blaming him for speaking out about the Chinese government for continued human rights abuses against Uighurs. There is
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver told Sopan Deb: new york times .
Freedom appeared in 35 games for the Boston Celtics before being traded to the Rockets midway through last season. He has also played for Utah his Jazz, Oklahoma City his Thunder, New York Knicks and Portland his Trail Blazers during his NBA career.
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