Enes Kanter, perpetually on high alert where the welfare of his family is concerned, is anticipating another crisis point.

The Celtics center’s father, Dr. Mehmet Kanter, was expected to stand trial in Istanbul today on charges of “membership in a terrorist group” due to his alleged support of deposed opposition leader Fethullah Gulen. Gulen, who lives in Pennsylvania, was accused by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of leading a failed coup in 2017.

The government indicted Dr. Kanter in June 2018, and has twice delayed the trial – both times, Enes believes, because he spoke out from his position as an NBA player and drew international attention to the proceedings. If convicted, Dr. Kanter faces 5 to 10 years in prison.

“We haven’t wanted to say much this time, because it’s the third time the trial has been scheduled, and each time Enes talks, they postpone it,” Kanter’s manager, Hank Fetic, said Wednesday.

Fetic said due to worries that the trial would be postponed again, Kanter chose to take a break from talking to the media over the last two days while awaiting news from Turkey.

He is in Orlando, preparing for Friday night’s exhibition game against the Magic.

“When he says something there’s obviously a lot of attention that comes with it,” Fetic said. “People now want to know his opinion on everything. What about China? What about Kashmir? But he doesn’t want to influence anything right now.” Related Articles Celtics’ Enes Kanter recounts being threatened outside Cambridge mosque: ‘It was crazy and scary’

New Celtics center Enes Kanter’s dispute with Turkey now a local matter

Kanter declined a request from the Herald to discuss the NBA’s conflict in China, stemming from a now deleted tweet by Houston general manager Daryl Morey in support of protesters in Hong Kong. The Chinese Basketball Association, headed by former Rockets star Yao Ming, immediately cut ties with Houston.

The NBA has since scrambled into damage control, initially with a statement criticizing Morey’s tweet, and then with a second statement from commissioner Adam Silver that struck a more neutral tone. Silver is en route to China in an attempt to smooth relations.

The normally outspoken Steve Kerr and Gregg Popovich recently demurred from commenting on China. Fetic said Kanter’s reticence, however, has nothing to do with pressure from the NBA.

“The league has not asked him to be quiet,” Fetic said. “If they ask us not to talk, he’ll talk even more about it.”

Kanter’s thoughts, though, are on the other side of Asia.

Thousands of Gulen’s followers were arrested or fired from their jobs following the attempted coup. Dr. Kanter, a genetics professor, was fired from his position at Istanbul University and initially jailed for five days. The family had previously been forced, under duress, to disown their son due to his support of Gulen.

Kanter, in the meantime, hasn’t let up in his support of human rights in Turkey on social media, tweeting Wednesday for the United States to follow up on threats by President Trump and place sanctions on the country.

On Monday, he posted a video of Kurdish demonstrators fighting with members of Erdogan’s security detail in Washington in 2017.

Kanter supports the Kurds and their struggle with the Turkish government, said Fetic. Though he was born in Switzerland, Kanter spent seven years in his early life in Van Province in Eastern Turkey, home to the majority of the country’s Kurdish minority.