Mass brawl breaks out in Turkish parliament over insult to Erdogan's party
Illustrative photo: A mass brawl occurred in the Turkish parliament over an insult to Erdoğan's party (Getty Images)
A mass brawl occurred in the Turkish Parliament on Friday, August 16. The incident was triggered by criticism of the Turkish government by an opposition deputy, TBMM informs.
It is noted that the Turkish Parliament convened for an extraordinary session to address the parliamentary status of Can Atalay. He is serving an 18-year prison sentence in connection with the 2013 Istanbul construction protests. However, he successfully ran for Parliament from prison as a candidate from the Workers' Party of Turkiye.
During a speech from the podium, his colleague Ahmet Şık shouted at the Justice and Development Party deputies, "You have no shame at all!" After a forced break, Şık continued to criticize the government, leading to a brawl.
It is worth noting that the leader of the Justice and Development Party is the current President of Turkiye, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
In a video circulating on social media, it can be seen that Alpay Ozalan, a deputy from the Justice and Development Party, hits Şık while he is standing at the podium, causing Şık to fall to the ground. At that moment, other deputies rush to intervene, and a brawl ensues among them.
Who is Can Atalay
47-year-old Can Atalay is one of the individuals involved in a case related to the mass protests against the government of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in 2013, which began due to a project to redevelop central Istanbul and spread to other cities in Turkiye.
At that time, Erdoğan violently suppressed the protests, leading to the persecution of Atalay and another organizer, businessman and dissident Osman Kavala.
Elected from the Workers' Party of Turkiye, Atalay is currently serving an 18-year prison sentence in connection with the 2013 anti-government protests.
Two decisions by the Turkish Constitutional Court recognized violations of Can Atalay's rights, but the Supreme Court of Appeals refused to implement them, leaving the verdict in place and initiating cases against the judges. In January, this decision was read out in parliament, initiating the procedure to strip Atalay of his mandate, but he successfully ran for election while in prison.
Earlier, RBC-Ukraine reported that on August 2, Turkiye, without providing reasons, blocked access to the social network Instagram.
