Im Turkish Parliament MPs from the government and opposition fought during a debate about an imprisoned human rights lawyer. In a video published by the newspaper Republic The published video showed how Alpay Ozalan, a member of the Islamic-conservative ruling party AKP, Ahmet Sik from the Turkish Workers’ Party Tip slapped during a speech.
Sik fell to the ground, and a violent brawl broke out in the parliament in Ankara.
At least two opposition MPs who tried to break up the scuffle were injured, according to Habertürk broadcaster. Blood was seen on the floor of parliament after the scuffle, it said. The leader of the largest opposition party CHP, Ozgur Ozel described the incident as “extremely shameful”. Alpay Özalan is a former football player who played for 1. FC Köln in the German Bundesliga.
Parliament held an extraordinary session on the situation of the Turkish human rights lawyer Can Atalay Atalay was sentenced to 18 years in prison in April 2022 for aiding and abetting an attempted coup in connection with the anti-government Gezi protests of 2013. He was elected as a member of parliament in the parliamentary elections in May 2023. The Constitutional Court ordered Atalay’s release – but the Court of Cassation decided not to implement this.
Sik had criticized the government for imprisoning Atalay. He was not surprised that Atalay was being called a “terrorist,” Sik said. However, the biggest “terrorists” in the country are those “who sit here on these benches,” he added, alluding to the government majority.
The verdict against Atalay in the so-called Gezi trial is considered politically motivated and was European Court of Human Rights as unlawful. The Gezi protests of 2013 were also specifically directed against the then Prime Minister and current President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Özgür Özel, chairman of the largest opposition party CHP, condemned the brawl in parliament. “I am ashamed to have witnessed this situation,” he said. “The AKP MPs who do not recognize the law and do not implement the decisions of the Constitutional Court are turning parliament into an arena of violence (…). We condemn this attack in the strongest possible terms,” said the pro-Kurdish party DEM. Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmus announced consequences for the two MPs responsible for the brawl. A motion by the opposition to examine the possibility of reinstating Atalay’s mandate was then debated. The motion submitted by the AKP and its far-right coalition partner MHP The parliament, dominated by the Social Democrats, rejected the proposal.