Turkish-American football player Enes Kanter after gaining US citizenship has praised Washington's track record on human rights.
In late November, the United States gained a new citizen. As Boston Celtics center and Turkish-American Enes Kanter Freedom stood on the courthouse steps, he proudly announced his citizenship and lauded our country's greatest achievements: "You've got freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of expression, freedom of press," according to Global Post.
Throughout his basketball career, Enes has strived to promote this legacy by speaking out against human rights abuse off the court.
Enes courageously advocates for human rights and democracy against some of the world's most repressive governments. He uses his Celtics platform to advocate for democracy and self-determination in Taiwan and Hong Kong and to protest the mass detention and forced labor of ethnic Uyghurs in Xinjiang, China, according to Global Post.
Earlier, in his video message in October last year, Kanter had asked the Chinese government to "free Tibet."
"Tibet belongs to the Tibetans. Under the Chinese government's brutal rule the Tibetan people's basic rights are non-existent," he said in a tweet.
President Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan, a critical US ally, has personally commended Enes for his activism. He has been recognized by multiple US Senators as a stalwart in the face of authoritarian intimidation, and he is a role model for other professional athletes, for young people, and for all those who are committed to living in truth.
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights protects the human right to freedom of opinion and peaceful expression. Yet, Enes faces enormous backlash for his advocacy.
After criticizing Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for mass detentions of political prisoners, Enes was banned from Turkey and his passport was revoked.
A Chinese media source banned Celtics games from its streaming service when Enes called President Xi Jinping a "brutal dictator;" according to Global Post.
( With inputs from ANI )
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