A heated debate in the Turkish parliament on Friday regarding the restoration of the parliamentary mandate for jailed opposition member Can Atalay escalated into a physical altercation, leaving at least two lawmakers injured. The fight broke out after Ahmet Şık, a member of the leftist Workers’ Party of Turkey (TIP), called for Atalay’s release and harshly criticized members of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), labeling them “the biggest terrorists of this country.”
The confrontation began when Şık urged the assembly to reinstate Atalay, who was sentenced to 18 years in prison in 2022 for allegedly organizing the 2013 Gezi Park protests. Despite being elected to parliament while in prison, Atalay was stripped of his mandate. Video footage shows AKP lawmakers rushing the lectern and physically attacking Şık, with dozens of deputies joining the melee. Blood was seen on the white steps of the speaker’s podium, and a female opposition lawmaker was also reportedly injured during the scuffle.
🇹🇷A brawl broke out among Turkish MPs on Friday during a heated debate over a jailed opposition delegate.
The ruling party was labelled a “terrorist organisation”, prompting a fight that spilled blood on the steps leading to the speaker’s lectern. pic.twitter.com/GC1E463gEJ
— NoComment (@nocomment) August 16, 2024
The brawl, which lasted about 30 minutes, led to a temporary suspension of the parliamentary session. When proceedings resumed three hours later, the parliament voted to uphold Atalay’s suspension, despite the Constitutional Court declaring his exclusion null and void earlier this month. The parliament also reprimanded Şık for his statements and Alpay Özalan, the AKP member who initiated the physical assault.
Opposition leaders condemned the violence, with Özgür Özel, leader of the main opposition party CHP, expressing shame over the incident and criticizing the AKP for resorting to violence to silence dissent. Pro-Kurdish DEM Party chairwoman Gulistan Kocyigit, who was also punched, accused the ruling party of using physical force to suppress opposition voices.
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