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Brickbats

Brickbat: Have You Ever Been in a Turkish Prison?

Charles Oliver | 1.2.2018 4:00 AM

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Large image on homepages | New York Post
(New York Post)
Enes Kanter
The New York Post

Turkish prosecutors have indicted NBA player Enes Kanter of insulting President Recep Tayyip Erodgan. They plan to try Kanter in absentia. Kanter could be sentenced to up to four years in prison if found guilty.

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Charles Oliver is a contributing editor at Reason.

BrickbatsTurkeyCensorshipSports
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  1. Telcontar the Wanderer   7 years ago

    Aren’t they worried about prison overcrowding? Isn’t Turkey already too stuffed as it is?

    1. chozi   7 years ago

      I just started 7 weeks ago and I’ve gotten 2 check for a total of $2,000…this is the best decision I made in a long time! “Thank you for giving me this extraordinary opportunity to make extra money from home.
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    2. Rat on a train   7 years ago

      He can serve his time in absentia.

      1. Tom Bombadil   7 years ago

        I spent the summer after I graduated college backpacking through Absentia. Beautiful country.

        1. SQRLSY One   7 years ago

          Isn’t that where absinthe is from? And do they not say that absinthe makes the heart grow fonder?

          1. Radioactive   7 years ago

            T my name is Tina, my husband’s name is Tim we come from Turkey and we sell crap that no one has a name for…

  2. Fist of Etiquette   7 years ago

    If Erdo?an was truly an anti-speech dictator he wouldn’t be taking half measures like prosecuting his detractors, he’d be tweeting insults back at them.

    How about four years for Oliver and Reason for spelling the president’s name wrong?

    1. Thane Eichenauer   7 years ago

      Isn’t it a bit much to expect folks to correctly spell the last name of a 2 bit middle eastern dictator at 4 AM in the morning?

      1. Heedless   7 years ago

        Pretty sure he’s a 2-bit Near Eastern dictator, but I can never remember how to spell his name either.

      2. Tom Bombadil   7 years ago

        Well then, he should write it at 4AM in the afternoon.

      3. gaoxiaen   7 years ago

        It’s actually Turdogan.

    2. Jerryskids   7 years ago

      Spelling his name wrong, or plausible deniability that they’re talking bad about you-know-who?

    3. Conchfritters   7 years ago

      This is America dammit; we don’t use letters with funky ass shit like that.

      1. Radioactive   7 years ago

        das umlout?

    4. El Oso   7 years ago

      Which one?

  3. Inigo Montoya   7 years ago

    The Post’s headline should have been, “A Knick vs a dick.”

  4. Jerryskids   7 years ago

    Wait until Kanter gets the death penalty for terrorist activities and Erdogan dronestrikes Madison Square Garden to carry out the sentence. There might be some collateral damage, but we’ve already established that that’s acceptable in such missions.

    1. Bubba Jones   7 years ago

      You can’t let the terrorists win.

  5. Michael Ejercito   7 years ago

    I guess insulting Erdogan was not such a good idea.

  6. Palin's Buttplug   7 years ago

    Don’t give the Trumpen-fuhrer any new ideas.

    1. El Oso   7 years ago

      He has plenty of old ones he hasn’t used yet…

    2. Citizen X - #6   7 years ago

      You just scrolled right past Fist’s much cleverer version of that exact same joke, didn’t you.

    3. Lucius Fergeson   7 years ago

      But Trump has never done anything close to that. All he does is shitpost on Twitter.

      1. markm23   7 years ago

        He also has a history of filing questionable libel and slander suits – but not yet as President. One thing about being President is that you’re constantly surrounded by people with law degrees, who (if they’re doing their jobs right, which they often don’t) will remind you that you can’t do that.

    4. Domestic Dissident   7 years ago

      Damn, you’re still alive.

  7. Longtobefree   7 years ago

    To be fair, when we implement this in America, the sentence should be “the remainder of the insulted politician’s term”.

    1. Citizen X - #6   7 years ago

      For a senator, that could be 50+ years.

      1. Longtobefree   7 years ago

        Yeah; so?

  8. PaulTheBeav   7 years ago

    Normally I would laugh at the absurdity of this sort of thing but he’s a Knick so I think the right thing to do would be to extradite him to Turkey so he can stand trial.

  9. Bubba Jones   7 years ago

    If the Knicks cut him, does he have to go back to Turkey?

    1. Rhywun   7 years ago

      Good question. I don’t follow basketball, is he any good? Maybe some other team will pick him up? I assume the “sports clause” that allows favored individuals to move to the front of the line requires him to actually be playing sports.

      1. Stormy Dragon   7 years ago

        Kanter received permanent resident status in 2016, so he can stay here as long as he wants even if he’s not playing basketball. Also, in three more years, he’ll be eligible to apply for US citizen status.

        1. Rhywun   7 years ago

          Looks like college ball kept him here legally. Even while he was taking “illegal” payments from the homeland. Nice.

  10. This Machine Chips Fascists   7 years ago

    “Have you ever been in a Turkish prison?” is my new icebreaker at parties.

    1. Stormy Dragon   7 years ago

      Have you ever seen a grown man naked?

      1. RoyMo   7 years ago

        Do you like gladiator movies?

    2. Stormy Dragon   7 years ago

      Have you ever seen a grown man naked?

      1. Old Mexican's Speedos   7 years ago

        There’s a sale at Penny’s!

  11. Old Mexican's Speedos   7 years ago

    “How about some coffee, Johnny?”
    “No, thanks!”

  12. crufus   7 years ago

    Guess this means he won’t be playing for the Turkish Olympic basketball team.

  13. Leader Desslok   7 years ago

    I think the EU has dodged a bullet by not allowing Turkey to enter.

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