The Turkish parliament became the scene of a violent brawl on Friday after a pro-government MP attacked a leftist opposition member as he was speaking from the podium. Several MPs were injured and one female MP had to be taken to hospital.
The session – which had to be suspended on several occasions due to tension – had been called at the request of the opposition to discuss the situation of Can Atalay, who won a seat in last year’s elections for the leftist Workers’ Party of Turkey (TIP), but remains in prison accused of organizing the Gezi revolt of 2013, the demonstrations that began against the felling of trees in a park in Istanbul and ended up becoming a massive protest movement that for weeks put the Erdogan government on the ropes.
The Constitutional Court had requested his release and that he be given his seat as a member of parliament, since the sentence was not final. But the Supreme Court ignored the decision and sued the Constitutional Court, opening a deep crisis in the judiciary. In January, Parliament, dominated by the Islamist and far-right groups that support President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, voted to strip Atalay of his status as a member of parliament in a session that the Constitutional Court invalidated and declared “void.”
On Friday, TIP MP Ahmet Sik made an aggressive speech against the governing majority, accusing it of having “no shame or dignity” for refusing to implement the Constitutional Court’s directives. Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) responded with several “Shut up!” He replied by accusing them of being “the largest terrorist organisation in the country.” The epithet did not sit well with the pro-government MPs, even though it is an adjective they often apply to the opposition.
Then AKP MP Alpay Özalan, a former footballer for Besiktas, Fenerbahçe and Aston Villa, stood up and approached Sik as he continued to speak on the podium and punched him hard in the face. This is not the first time that Özalan has been involved in parliamentary fights, despite being one of the most important idari amir Parliament: supervisors responsible for ensuring order in debates.
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Following the attack, the floor was filled with MPs from various parties who engaged in a fight with punches, kicks and blows. At least two opposition MPs had to be treated and the deputy chairwoman of the pro-Kurdish left group, Gülistan Koçyigit, had to be taken to hospital with a broken eyebrow. The cleaning services had to wash several blood stains from the floor of the chamber.
The head of the main opposition party, Özgür Özel, has described the incident as “shameful” and has asked the speaker of parliament, Islamist Numan Kurtulmus, to “urgently” convene the leaders of the political parties to discuss the situation.
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