![NBA player Kanter out to corner UN rights chief on China](https://www.berlinertageblatt.de/media/shared/articles/bf/2b/9e/NBA-player-Kanter-out-to-corner-UN--792044.jpg)
-
Concern grows as Venezuela blocks election observers
-
'Massive attack' on French rail threatens more chaos
-
'We did it!': France breathes sigh of relief after Olympics ceremony
-
Blinken, in Laos, set for talks with Chinese foreign minister
-
Regional concern grows as Venezuela blocks vote observers
-
Historic river parade, Dion show-stopper ignite Paris Olympics
-
Rainy Paris Olympic parade dampens many spectators' spirits
-
G20 pledges to work together to tax ultra-rich
-
The one of a kind Paris opening ceremony: five memorable moments
-
Justin Timberlake seeks to dismiss DUI case
-
Warner Brothers Discovery sues NBA over Amazon rights deal
-
Kobe Bryant locker, Maradona jersey up for auction in New York
-
Historic river parade launches Paris Olympics
-
Stocks rise as US inflation data boosts rate cut hopes
-
New York family of Holocaust victim reclaims Nazi-looted art
-
NASA Mars rover captures rock that could hold fossilized microbes
-
Thousands evacuate season's biggest wildfire in northern California
-
Sinaloa Cartel co-founder pleads not guilty after stunning US capture
-
Ethiopia mourns victims of landslide tragedy
-
Lady Gaga adds sparkle to star-studded Olympic show
-
Airbus and Boeing supremacy secure despite turbulence
-
Teams sail down Seine in rain-soaked Olympics opening ceremony
-
Norris hoping for more after topping Belgian practice times
-
West Indies' treble strike rocks England in third Test
-
Trump slams rivals as he meets Netanyahu in Florida
-
Olympic opening ceremony under way on River Seine
-
Mott's England future uncertain as ECB chief fails to offer support
-
Trump meets Israeli PM Netanyahu in Florida
-
S.African police say 95 Libyans detained at suspected military camp
-
Blinken set for talks with Chinese counterpart in Laos
-
Norris heads Piastri in McLaren one-two at Belgian GP practice
-
G20 seeks common ground on taxing super-rich
-
European medicines watchdog rejects new Alzheimer's drug
-
Harris gets vital Obama backing in battle against Trump
-
Habib, Ebden eye Alcaraz and Djokovic shocks at Olympics tennis
-
Stocks rise as inflation data boosts rate cut hopes
-
Long queues, ticketing problems ahead of Paris opening ceremony
-
Two Sinaloa Cartel leaders face US charges after stunning capture
-
Spain train driver jailed for 2.5 years over deadly 2013 crash
-
Paris poised for Olympic opening ceremony spectacular
-
Judoka fails doping test in first case at Paris Olympics
-
Holder and Da Silva keep England at bay after West Indies collapse
-
Alpine F1 boss Bruno Famin to leave in August
-
Ethiopia declares three days of mourning after landslide tragedy
-
Brazilian dunes dotted with dazzling pools make UNESCO heritage list
-
Rain, cooling slow huge blaze in Canada's Jasper park
-
French Rugby's Jaminet suspended 34 weeks after racist video: Federation
-
Osaka looking to turbo-charge comeback at Paris Olympics
-
Stock markets climb as US inflation rate drops
-
Russian central bank hikes key rate to fight inflation
![NBA player Kanter out to corner UN rights chief on China](https://www.berlinertageblatt.de/media/shared/articles/bf/2b/9e/NBA-player-Kanter-out-to-corner-UN--792044.jpg)
NBA player Kanter out to corner UN rights chief on China
Long-time NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom, whose advocacy on Xinjiang and Tibet has ruffled feathers, hopes to bend UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet's ear on Thursday about her forthcoming China visit.
Kanter Freedom has emerged as one of China's most vocal critics in the sporting world: a rare athlete willing to forgo lucrative endorsements to speak on issues such as Beijing's treatment of its Uyghur Muslim and Tibetan minorities.
And at an event they are both due to attend in Geneva, he hopes to spur Bachelet into "solid action" on China rather than mere condemnation.
"I am really hopeful for that meeting," he told AFP.
"We need change, and change cannot wait any more. We need to take immediate action. What she represents is to bring awareness but what I want to tell her is, don't just talk about it: be about it.
"Take some solid actions because condemning is good, it brings awareness, but it doesn't change anything."
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights is set to make a long-delayed visit to China in May, including to Xinjiang, where Western lawmakers have accused Beijing of genocide against the Uyghurs -- allegations vigorously denied by China.
"We don't have time to wait. People are dying and getting killed, so she definitely needs to push whoever she needs to push," said Kanter Freedom.
- Money versus morals -
He was raised in Turkey and played for the national team but criticised President Recep Tayyip Erdogan over rights issues and had his passport revoked by the Turkish government in 2017.
For several years afterwards, Kanter said he feared for his life and refused to leave North America.
The former Boston Celtics centre, who made his NBA debut in 2011 with the Utah Jazz, became a US citizen last November and added Freedom to his name to celebrate his new nationality.
He will be presented Wednesday with the 2022 Courage Award at the 14th annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy, organised by rights NGOs, for "risking his career" to speak out on the Uyghurs.
China is by far the NBA's largest overseas market but in October last year Chinese streaming service Tencent stopped showing Celtics games after Kanter Freedom branded President Xi Jinping a "brutal dictator".
Kanter Freedom said that athletes nowadays have a huge platform due to their social media reach, and urged them to use it to raise issues that transcend sport -- even if it risked sponsorship deal opportunities.
He called for a boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics in February and while pleased with the diplomatic snub from some countries, he said athletes should also have taken a stand.
"They have picked money and business over morals, principles and values. So shame on all these athletes who attended," he said.
Kanter Freedom said China was closely watching the world's response to Russia's war in Ukraine and called for tougher sanctions on Moscow to deter Beijing from invading Taiwan.
"We don't want another Ukraine to happen to Taiwan," he said.
- Traded, then released -
NBA basketball only returned to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV for the first time in nearly 18 months last week, after China blacklisted it after a Houston Rockets official voiced support for Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement.
Kanter Freedom feels he is paying a price for his advocacy.
The Celtics traded him in February to the Rockets -- who immediately released him, leaving him looking for a new NBA team.
"I averaged double-double last year and people know I can still go out there and play," he said, citing his statistics.
"I'm 29 and I plan to play another six or seven years in the league because my body feels healthy and I love basketball.
"I do believe that yes, they are punishing me in a way, and making sure every other athlete sees what I am going through so they won't talk about the issues that are happening in China."
But he added: "I don't regret anything that I have done. If I could go back in time, I would do it even louder."
B.Shevchenko--BTB