Dozens of lawmakers engaged in a chaotic brawl in Turkey's parliament on Friday, resulting in at least two injuries and the suspension of a parliamentary session.
Dozens of lawmakers engaged in a chaotic brawl in Turkey's parliament on Friday, resulting in at least two injuries and the suspension of a parliamentary session. The altercation erupted during heated discussions over a jailed opposition deputy, Can Atalay, who was stripped of his parliamentary immunity earlier this year.
The 30-minute fracas, which was captured on video and widely circulated online, highlighted the deep divisions within Turkey’s political landscape. The brawl broke out after Alpay Ozalan, a member of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and a former footballer, physically attacked Ahmet Sik, a member of the leftist Workers' Party of Turkey (TIP). Sik had sharply criticized the government's treatment of Atalay, accusing the ruling party of labeling Atalay a terrorist unjustly.
🚨🇹🇷BRAWL ERUPTS IN TURKISH PARLIAMENT OVER JAILED MP'S RETURN
A fistfight broke out in Turkey’s parliament on Friday when opposition MP Ahmet Sik was attacked by ruling AKP lawmakers after demanding the return of jailed colleague Can Atalay to the assembly.
Video footage shows… pic.twitter.com/6Je3gFZCjt
🇹🇷Massive brawl breaks out in Turkey’s parliament as MPs begin PUNCHING each other.
The brawl began after an MP from the Workers Party of Turkey insulted members of President Erdogan’s AK party.
pic.twitter.com/doyMUWsZZv
“It’s no surprise that you call Atalay a terrorist,” Sik declared. “All citizens should know that the biggest terrorists of this country are those seated on those benches,” he added, gesturing towards the ruling party members.
Ozalan responded by marching to the rostrum and shoving Sik to the ground. According to reports from an Agence France-Presse journalist present in the parliament, Sik was subsequently punched multiple times by AKP lawmakers as he lay on the floor. The incident quickly escalated, with dozens of lawmakers from various parties joining the melee.
🚨NEWS:
A fight in the Turkish Parliament today ended in blood. It appears that Turks are incapable of civil debate... only violence. Sad. pic.twitter.com/K4nWZJCrVh
Democracy in Turkey - in a Turkish parliament session several officials of Erdogans AKP stood up and attacked officials from the Kurdish DEM Party pic.twitter.com/IgLvJczbw5
— ScharoMaroof (@ScharoMaroof)Footage of the brawl showed a chaotic scene with lawmakers pushing, shoving, and exchanging blows, while parliamentary staff later cleaned blood stains from the floor. Among the injured were a deputy from the Republican People’s Party (CHP) and another from the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM), both suffering head injuries.
The parliamentary speaker announced that the two deputies who instigated the brawl would face sanctions for their actions. However, the violence did not deter the subsequent proceedings, as lawmakers eventually reconvened to vote on the issue that sparked the conflict.
The vote, which took place after the brawl, saw the ruling AKP and its allies from the far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) defeat an opposition motion aimed at restoring Atalay’s parliamentary mandate. Atalay, a lawyer and human rights activist, had won his seat in the May 2023 election while campaigning from his prison cell. He was elected as a representative for the earthquake-ravaged Hatay province under the banner of TIP, a party holding three seats in parliament.
Atalay’s parliamentary status has been a point of contention since his election. Despite winning his seat, Atalay’s conviction in a controversial 2022 trial, where he was sentenced to 18 years in prison along with six others, including the philanthropist Osman Kavala, led to his parliamentary immunity being stripped in January 2024. The removal of his immunity followed a ruling by Turkey's supreme court of appeals, which upheld his conviction.
However, in a significant development on August 1, the constitutional court ruled that Atalay’s removal from parliament was “null and void,” intensifying the legal and political battle over his status. The court’s decision added fuel to the ongoing dispute, with opposition parties arguing that Atalay should be reinstated as a deputy.
Ozgur Ozel, the head of the main opposition CHP, condemned the violence, expressing his shame at the situation. “I am ashamed to have witnessed this situation,” Ozel said, calling for a more peaceful and democratic resolution to the political disagreements.