Ankara: At least two lawmakers were injured in a violent brawl that broke out in the Turkish parliament on Friday, August 16, during a heated debate over the case of jailed opposition lawmaker Can Atalay.
The brawl broke out when ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) MP Alpay Ozalan threw a punch at Ahmet Sik, a fellow member of the leftist Workers’ Party of Turkey (TIP), who was criticizing the government over Atalay.
Other MPs interfered, resulting in a violent altercation between dozens of MPs that lasted around half an hour.
Watch the video here
Two opposition deputies, one from the Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the other from the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democracy and Equality Party (HDP), were slightly injured after being punched in the eyes.
A video shared on X showed the staff cleaning blood stains from the parliament floor after a brawl.
In this regard, Ozgur Ozel, head of the main opposition CHP party, described the situation as “shameful,” AFP reported.
“Instead of words flying in the air, punches flying, blood splattering on the ground. They are beating women,” he added.
Forty-eight-year-old Atalay was elected in May 2023 from his prison cell, and was removed from his seat in January due to an ill-tempered parliamentary session, despite efforts by fellow leftist deputies to halt the proceedings.
He was sentenced to 18 years in prison in 2013 for his involvement in anti-government protests against Turkey’s Prime Minister Erdogan.
“Atalay’s freedom, security and election rights, which the Constitutional Court has deemed to have been violated, should be restored,” Amnesty International Turkey said in a post on X on Friday.
