Puddles of blood on the floorMPs engage in violent brawl in Turkish parliament
dpa
16.8.2024 - 22:39
MPs from Turkey's ruling AK Party scuffle with opposition MPs during the extraordinary session of the Turkish Grand National Assembly, where the case of jailed opposition MP Atalay is being debated.
Bild: ---/DIA Images/AP/dpa
Fists fly during a session of the Turkish National Assembly. Several MPs are injured. The reason is a dispute over the detention of a member of parliament.
16.08.2024, 22:39
dpa
No time? blue News summarizes for you
A debate about an imprisoned human rights activist in the Turkish National Assembly ends in a brawl.
At least two opposition MPs were injured.
Puddles of blood collected on the floor of the Turkish parliament.
Members of the Turkish parliament from the government and the opposition came to blows during a debate on an imprisoned human rights lawyer. A video published by the newspaper "Cumhuriyet" showed Alpay Özalan, a member of parliament from the Islamic-conservative ruling party AKP, slapping Ahmet Sik from the Turkish Workers' Party Tip during a speech. Sik then fell to the ground, whereupon a violent brawl broke out in parliament in Ankara.
İşte en net görüntüler! AKP'lilerden Alpay Özalan öncülüğünde Ahmet Şık'a linç girişimihttps://t.co/6iuU4G3wrg
At least two opposition MPs who tried to break up the scuffle were injured, according to the Habertürk broadcaster. Blood was reportedly seen on the floor of parliament afterwards. The leader of the largest opposition party CHP, Özgur Özel, described the incident as "extremely shameful". Alpay Özalan is a former footballer who played for FC Köln for a time.
Dispute over imprisoned MP
Parliament had held an extraordinary session on the situation of Turkish human rights lawyer Can Atalay. Atalay was sentenced to 18 years in prison in April 2022 for aiding and abetting a coup attempt in connection with the anti-government Gezi protests in 2013. He was elected as a member of parliament in the parliamentary elections in May 2023. The Constitutional Court ordered Atalay's release - however, the Court of Cassation decided not to implement this.
Yakın açıdan saldırı anları AKP'li Alpay Özalan'ın saldırısı bir başka açıdan böyle görüntülendi https://t.co/AdVHmRmOgK
The verdict against Atalay in the so-called Gezi trial is considered politically motivated and was ruled unlawful by the European Court of Human Rights. The Gezi protests of 2013 were also specifically directed against the then Prime Minister and current President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.