A scuffle broke out between dozens of lawmakers in Turkey’s parliament on Friday (local time) as they debated the issue of a jailed opposition lawmaker being stripped of parliamentary immunity this year.
At least two MPs were injured in the 30-minute disturbance, which forced the hearing to be suspended. Eventually, deputies returned to vote, rejecting the opposition’s proposal to restore the parliamentary mandate of lawyer and rights activist Can Atalay.
Atalay won his seat last year by campaigning from prison.
The parliamentary turmoil began when Alpay Ozalan, a member of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), attacked Ahmet Sik, a member of the left-wing Workers’ Party of Turkey (TIP), who had condemned the government’s treatment of Atalay.
(The video below is courtesy of Reuters)
He added, “It’s no wonder you call Atalay a terrorist.”
Pointing to the ruling majority, he said, “All citizens should know that the biggest terrorists of this country are the people sitting on those benches.”
An AFP journalist at parliament said former footballer Ozalan came onto the podium and pushed Sik to the ground.
Sik was punched several times by AKP MPs while lying on the ground. Dozens of MPs joined the fight.
Footage posted online showed the assault and then staff cleaning up blood stains from the floor of parliament. One deputy from the Republican People’s Party (CHP) and one from the People’s Equality and Democracy (DEM) party suffered head injuries.
Ozgur Ozel, head of the main opposition CHP party, condemned the violence.
“I feel ashamed to see this situation,” he said.
The Speaker of Parliament said that two MPs involved in the brawl would be banned.
Court battle
Atalay was stripped of his seat following a bad-tempered parliamentary session in January, with his fellow left-wing lawmakers making several attempts to halt proceedings.
He is one of seven defendants who have been sentenced to 18 years in prison in 2022 following a controversial trial that also saw award-winning philanthropist Osman Kavala sentenced to life imprisonment.
From prison, Atalay, 48, campaigned for a parliament seat in earthquake-ravaged Hatay province in elections due in May 2023.
He was elected as a member of the left-wing TIP, which has three seats in parliament.
The victory caps a legal standoff between supporters of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and opposition leaders that left Turkey on the brink of a constitutional crisis last year.
Parliament’s decision to remove Atalaya from office in January followed a Supreme Court of Appeal ruling that upheld his conviction, clearing the way for his parliamentary immunity to be lifted.
But on August 1, the Constitutional Court — which reviews whether judges’ rulings are in line with Turkey’s Basic Law — said Atalay’s removal as a member of parliament was “invalid and void.”
Representatives of the AKP and the far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) joined hands on Friday to defeat the opposition’s proposal.
Turkey’s parliament has already voted to remove immunity from prosecution for opposition leaders — many of them Kurds — whom the government considers “terrorists.”