Brawl in Turkey’s Parliament: Debate Over Jailed Former MP Ends in Fistfight
Tensions erupted in Turkey’s Parliament when MP Ahmet Sik accused members of the ruling Islamist AKP party, in power since 2002, of a “complete lack of shame.”
A scuffle broke out, forcing the session to be suspended. However, when Sik resumed his speech, an AKP deputy lunged at him, throwing punches and triggering a widespread brawl.
Gülistan Koçyigit, an MP from the leftist DEM party (formerly HDP), was injured in the clashes, leaving a trail of blood on the parliamentary floor, according to the same source.
The incident stemmed from the case of former MP Atalay, who had been stripped of his seat in January after the Supreme Court upheld an 18-year prison sentence against him.
However, the Constitutional Court repeatedly ruled that, since Atalay had been elected as an MP in May 2023 while his appeal was still pending, he should have parliamentary immunity, rendering the conviction null and void.
Following the publication of this decision in the Official Gazette on August 1, the opposition called for an extraordinary parliamentary session—despite the recess—to reinstate Atalay’s seat by reading the court ruling.
The AKP, however, strongly opposed the move, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan backed the Supreme Court over the Constitutional Court, sparking widespread controversy by questioning whether the Constitutional Court was truly the highest judicial authority in the country.
Veteran former MP Bülent Arinç, co-founder of the AKP alongside Erdogan and Speaker of Parliament from 2002 to 2007, posted a message on his X account a week ago, urging the current Speaker, Numan Kurtulmus, to comply with the Constitutional Court’s ruling and restore Atalay’s seat.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
See More
Sidebar rates
Related Posts
SaveAdd 3440
Join 350 000+ traders receiving Free Trading Signals
Alerts
Rates
Calendar
Signals