New York Knicks center Enes Kanter faces charges for insulting former Kings player and current Turkish political adviser Hedo Turkoglu, and may be tried in absentia in Turkey, EuroHoops reported Thursday.

The comments, made via social media, were considered to be “humiliating and hurtful” by the Istanbul Cyber Crimes Investigation Bureau in its indictment, according to Turkish newspaper Sabah, but were not referenced specifically. A prison term between one to four years is sought, and the case will be heard at the Assize Court without Kanter present.

Turkoglu has been CEO of the Turkish Basketball Federation since 2015 and a senior adviser to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan since March 2016. Erdogan was the subject of an attempted military coup in July 2016.

Kanter was raised in Turkey, and Turkoglu, 38, became the first Turkish-born NBA player upon being drafted by the Kings in 2000 (first round, No. 16). Turkoglu, a forward, played 15 seasons in the league, in Sacramento from 2000-2003.

Despite a 13-year age gap, Kanter and Turkoglu’s NBA tenure overlapped for about four years, from 2011 through the 2014-15 season.

In December, Kanter was also charged with insulting Erdogan, Sporting News reports, with four years of imprisonment sought in that case.

Kanter reacted to media reports of this week’s charges on Twitter, in Turkish, and tagged Turkoglu in his post, alongside a sarcastic “kiss” emoji.

Last May, Sabah reported that Turkish prosecutors had issued an arrest warrant for Kanter, charging him for “being a member of a terrorist organization.” Sabah’s story says the NBA player is known for expressing support for Fethullah Gulen via Twitter. Gulen, a preacher now living in the United States, is called a terrorist by the Turkish government and Sabah, considered by Turkish political leadership to be responsible for the 2016 coup attempt.

Kanter is a frequent Twitter user, and he sometimes discusses Turkish political and human rights issues on his page.

An ousted former bureau chief for Sabah noted that the publication has been overwhelmingly pro-government since its 2007 seizure by then-prime minster Erdogan, according to a 2009 Wall Street Journal story.

The Knicks will be woefully thin in the frontcourt Thursday night against the Toronto Raptors. Not only are Kristaps Porzingis and Willy Hernangomez gone, but starting center Enes Kanter will also miss the game with mouth problems.

Kanter cut his mouth in practice a few days ago, and the stitches keep coming out, which sounds painful as hell.

In other Kanter news, he’s about to go on trial in Turkey.

Kanter is often facing charges in his native land, but this was has a particularly NBA bent: He’s going on trial (in absentia, of course) for insulting former NBA player Hedo Turkoglu. Per Eurohoops:

An indictment was filed on the grounds that Kanter has “insulted Turkoglu more than once on different dates”, per the report by [Turkish newspaper] Sabah.

The Istanbul Cyber Crimes Investigation Bureau prepared the indictment which is based on “humiliating and hurtful messages” made by Kanter against Turkoglu on his social media.

The indictment mentions that even though Kanter won’t appear before the judge, he will be tried in absentia because he “has to be punished for the charges of insult”. The case will be heard before the Assize Court.

This goes way beyond Kanter’s famous beef with LeBron James. But Kanter is still carrying out his battle with Turkoglu on Twitter.

I’m not sure what any of this means. Can anybody who speaks Turkish translate Kanter’s response?

Ah, the Kanter saga. It’s wild stuff.