Free Republic

New York Knicks center Enes Kanter announced Friday that he will not be traveling to London for the NBA team’s upcoming game out of fear of a possible assassination attempt due to his opposition to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Kanter, a Turkish native, told reporters he can’t travel anywhere except the U.S. and Canada because “there’s a chance I could get killed out there.” “Sadly, I’m not going because of that freaking lunatic, the Turkish president,” Kanter said. “It’s pretty sad that all the stuff affects my career and basketball, because I want to be out there and help...

Two cartoonists for the popular satirical weekly Penguen have been jailed to 11 months in prison, over a satirical piece on free speech in which they were convicted of including a hidden gesture “insulting” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Cartoonists Bahadır Baruter and Özer Aydoğan were sued for the Aug. 21, 2014, cover of the magazine, which satirized Erdoğan’s election as Turkey’s president. In the drawing, Erdoğan is seen asking whether officials at the new presidential palace in Ankara have prepared “any journalists to slaughter,” referring to ritual sacrifice in Islam, to mark his inauguration. Soon after the publication, a...