By Chinasaokwu Helen okoro
A fistfight broke out in Turkey’s parliament on Friday when an opposition deputy was attacked after calling for his colleague, jailed on charges of organizing anti-government protests but since elected an MP, to be admitted to the assembly, as reported by BBC.
Video footage showed MPs for the ruling Justice and Development party (AKP) rushing in to punch Ahmet Sik, a member of the Workers’ Party of Turkey (TIP), at the lectern and dozens more joining a melee, some trying to hold others back. Blood spattered the white steps of the speaker’s podium.
Turkey’s ruling AK Party lawmakers scuffle with opposition lawmakers during the extraordinary session of the Turkish Grand National Assembly to debate the case of jailed opposition lawmaker Can Atalay, in Ankara, Turkey, Friday, Aug. 16, 2024. DIA Images/AP
Can Atalay was sentenced to 18 years in 2022 after being accused of trying to overthrow the government by allegedly organizing the nationwide Gezi Park protests in 2013 with philanthropist Osman Kavala, also now jailed, and six others. All deny the charges.
Despite his imprisonment, Atalay was elected to parliament in May last year to represent the TIP. Parliament stripped him of his seat, but on Aug. 1 the Constitutional Court declared his exclusion null and void
We’re not surprised that you call Can Atalay a terrorist, just as you do everyone who does not side with you,” Sik told AKP lawmakers in a speech.
“But the biggest terrorists are the ones sitting in these seats,” he added.
The deputy parliament speaker declared a 45-minute recess after the fistfight.
The TIP also called for Atalay’s release from prison.
Though not often, brawls are not unheard-of in Turkish parliament. In June, AKP lawmakers scuffled with pro-Kurdish DEM Party MPs over the detention and replacement of a DEM Party mayor in southeast Turkey for alleged militant links.
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