Turkish parliament erupts into bloody brawl over debate on jailed politician

Bloody brawl breaks out in Turkish parliament over jailed former MP

A debate in Turkey's parliament on Friday ended in bloodshed, after a brawl began during a debate about an imprisoned opposition member.

Televised footage showed Ahmet Sik, from the same party as jailed politician Can Atalay, being attacked by a member of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling party while speaking at the chamber's podium.

The incident followed Sik's description of Erdogan's party as a "terrorist organisation".

In a subsequent scuffle involving dozens of politicians, a woman was struck, leaving drops of blood on steps leading to the speaker’s lectern. Another opposition member was also reportedly injured.

The incident is not the first time a brawl has broken out in Turkey's parliament.

Ozgur Ozel, who heads the largest opposition party, said: “It is a shameful situation."

“Instead of words flying in the air, fists are flying, there is blood on the ground. They are hitting women,” he said.

The parliamentary session was called to debate the imprisonment of Can Atalay, who was elected from prison as a parliamentary deputy for the Workers’ Party of Turkey in last year’s election.

He had been sentenced the previous year to 18 years’ imprisonment for his role in anti-government protests in 2013, which challenged the rule of Erdogan.

Since being elected, Atalay has been fighting to take his seat in parliament, which comes with immunity from prosecution and would see him released from Marmara prison. He has said he would return to prison once his term ends.

Although he has achieved successful rulings from the Constitutional Court, these have been ignored by lower courts, sparking accusations of injustice.

In its third ruling in Atalay’s favor, the Constitutional Court said the decision to strip him of his parliamentary status was “null and void" on August 1.

Opposition parties then demanded a special session to discuss the case.

After the violence broke out, both Sik and his assailant accepted reprimands from the parliament's speaker.

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Can Atalay's conviction led to widespread criticism from human rights groups and lawyers.The main defendant, Osman Kavala, was jailed for life without parole.

The European Court of Human Rights has called for his release twice, and said his imprisonment was politically motivated.The Gezi Park protests began in the summer of 2013 against the development of a central Istanbul park.

The discontent soon spread to other cities as people protested against Erdogan’s increasingly authoritarian rule.“Atalay’s personal freedom and security, as well as his right to be elected, which the Constitutional Court ruled to have been violated, should be restored,” Amnesty International’s Turkey office said on Friday in a social media post.

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