UPDATE: Kanter has been allowed to leave Romania and he is on his way to London. According to ESPN, the NBA and the State Department are working together to get Kanter back into the United States.
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***Original story below***
Oklahoma City Thunder forward Enes Kanter was detained in a Romanian airport in Bucharest on Saturday after he said he had has his passport "cancelled" by his native Turkey.
I'm being held at Romanian airport by Police!! pic.twitter.com/uYZMBqKx54
— Enes Kanter FREEDOM (@EnesFreedom) May 20, 2017
"We are in Romania, and they said they cancelled my passport by the Turkish Embassy," Kanter said in a Twitter video. "They've been holding us here for hours..."
Kanter, who has been very outspoken about the Turkish government and leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said that his political views were the reason that his passport had been cancelled.
"The reason behind it is just, of course, my political views," Kanter said. "And the guy who did it is Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the president of Turkey. You guys know him, he's attacked people in Washington. He's a bad, bad man. He is a dictator and he's the Hitler of our century."
https://twitter.com/MahirZeynalov/status/865928723312365568
Erdogan has recently gained controversy in the United States after his security team attacked protesters in Washington during a White House visit with President Donald Trump.
According to ESPN, Kanter had been travelling from Indonesia to Romania as part of his Enes Kanter LightFoundation charity that benefits children. Saturday also happened to be Kanter's 25th birthday.
#FreeEnes pic.twitter.com/y07aGwVRIS
— Enes Kanter FREEDOM (@EnesFreedom) May 20, 2017
