Dozens of lawmakers was embroiled in a fisticuffs brawl in Turkey’s parliament on Friday as they argued over a jailed opposition deputy stripped of his parliamentary immunity this yr.The 30-minute ruckus, which left no less than two lawmakers injured, pressured the suspension of the listening to. Deputies sooner or later returned for a vote that defied an opposition transfer to revive the parliamentary mandate of attorney and rights activist Can Atalay.Atalay gained his seat in an election final yr after campaigning from his jail cellular.The parliamentary turmoil erupted after ruling Justice and Building birthday celebration (AKP) member Alpay Ozalan introduced into Ahmet Sik, a member of the leftist Staff’ birthday celebration of Turkey (TIP), who had condemned the federal government’s remedy of Atalay.Turkey’s ruling AK birthday celebration (AKP) and opposition lawmakers scuffle throughout an ordinary assembly of the Turkish parliament to talk about jailed opposition lawmaker Can Atalay’s go back to the meeting. {Photograph}: Çağla Gürdoğan/Reuters“It’s no wonder that you simply name Atalay a terrorist,” Sik mentioned.“All electorate will have to know that the most important terrorists of this nation are the ones seated on the ones benches,” he added, indicating the ruling majority.Ozalan, a former footballer, walked to the podium and shoved Sik to the bottom, mentioned an Agence France-Presse journalist in parliament.Whilst at the flooring, Sik was once punched a number of occasions by means of AKP lawmakers. Dozens of lawmakers joined the combat.Pictures posted on-line confirmed the brawl after which group of workers cleansing blood stains from the parliament flooring. A deputy from the Republican Folks’s birthday celebration (CHP) and one from the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) birthday celebration suffered head accidents.Ozgur Ozel, head of the primary opposition CHP, denounced the violence.“I’m ashamed to have witnessed this case,” he added.The combat broke out after former footballer and AKP MP Alpay Ozalan attacked opposition MP Ahmet Sik. {Photograph}: Adem Altan/AFP/Getty ImagesThe parliamentary speaker mentioned the 2 deputies on the starting place of the brawl can be sanctioned.Atalay was once disadvantaged of his seat after an ill-tempered parliamentary consultation in January, in spite of efforts by means of fellow leftist deputies to halt the lawsuits.He’s considered one of seven defendants sentenced in 2022 to 18 years in jail following a debatable trial that still noticed the award-winning philanthropist Osman Kavala jailed for existence.From jail, Atalay, 48, campaigned for a parliament seat for the earthquake-ravaged Hatay province in a Might 2023 election.He was once elected as a member for the leftist TIP, which has 3 seats within the parliament.The win ended in a criminal standoff between President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s supporters and opposition leaders that driven Turkey to the verge of a constitutional disaster final yr.Parliament’s choice in January to oust Atalay got here after a ruling by means of the excellent courtroom of appeals that upheld his conviction, clearing the way in which for the transfer to strip him of his parliamentary immunity.However on 1 August, the constitutional courtroom – which evaluations whether or not judges’ rulings agree to Turkey’s elementary legislation – mentioned that Atalay’s removing as a member of parliament was once “null and void”.AKP and far-right Nationalist Motion birthday celebration deputies joined forces to defeat the opposition movement on Friday.Turkey’s parliament has prior to now voted to raise immunity from prosecution of opposition politicians – a lot of them Kurds – who the federal government perspectives as “terrorists”.
