You are My Hope - Petition for Human Rights in Turkey

I am Enes Kanter.

Many of you might know my story. Because I speak up against human rights violations, the current government of my home country of Turkey attempted to kidnap and imprison me. They imprisoned my father, threatened my family, and put in prison everyone who got in touch with me. Death threats I receive is almost my daily routine. You already know how my "American Dream" in the NBA was shattered as I was left without a country and even worse, without a family. But you don't know heart-wrenching stories of thousands of other voiceless people.

You don't know the story of Berk, the 12-year old who couldn't take it any longer and died of cancer when his dad was behind bars without a charge and his disabled mother dropped to 55 pounds because of the dire circumstances.

You don't know Gokhan, the teacher who was tortured to death, and in an insult to injury, he was reinstated to his school when he was found innocent two years later.

You don't know Ahmet Altan, 69, one of the best-selling authors in Turkey whose novels are published in dozens of countries, including the United States, who is sentenced to life for criticizing the government.

You don't know students sentenced to life at 18, doctors barred from their profession, judges and prosecutors who did their jobs in the face of unlawfulness, journalists put behind bars for writing the truth, or those who lost their lives in freezing waters fleeing their country for their freedom.

You don't know that thousands or even hundreds of thousands of new stories keep piling up. A despotic man who has stolen lives of children, women and innocents in Turkey, and cooperated with many terrorist organizations including ISIS, is now playing with the lives of millions in Syria for his political ambitions and racial resettlement policies. And you don’t know of the fact that if he's not stopped, he might inflict great harm to the civilized world like any other dictator in the history.

I am Enes Kanter. I'm asking you to listen to your conscience and hear the cries of the voiceless. Please stop this man in the name of democracy, justice, and humanity. Take a step and put your name below to be on the right side of history. Do not forget the thousands who need your voice.

You're their hope, you're my hope!

And now you know it...