Viral Video: Chaos erupted in the parliament of Turkey on Friday when lawmakers began hitting one another over the status of jailed opposition deputy Can Atalay. The fight continued for half an hour, leaving at least two lawmakers injured before the session was suspended for some time.
Ruling Party and Opposition Clash Over Motion to Reinstate Atalay
The brawl erupted after lawmakers from the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, clashed with opposition lawmakers over a motion to reinstate Atalay’s seat in parliament. A lawyer and human rights activist, Atalay won his parliamentary seat in 2023 campaigning from his prison cell, before being stripped of his parliamentary immunity earlier this year after a controversial session in January.
Things came to a head when AKP lawmaker Alpay Ozalan – a former professional footballer – launched a verbal attack on Ahmet Sik, a deputy from the leftist Workers’ Party of Turkey. Sik had spoken out against the government over its treatment of Atalay, accusing the ruling party of branding political opponents as terrorists.
Sik Accuses Ruling Party of Terrorism in Fiery Speech
“It is quite expected from you to call Atalay a terrorist,” Sik said. “Something all citizens should know is that the greatest terrorists of this country are those who are seated on those benches,” he added, nodding toward the ruling majority.
Ozalan responded by approaching the rostrum and physically pushing Sik to the ground. AKP lawmakers joined in to punch Sik while he lay on the ground. Soon, the fight developed into one involving dozens of other deputies, and the parliamentary chamber looked very much like a battlefield. The video, which went viral online, also showed parliamentary staff cleaning bloodstains from the floor.
Injuries and Sanctions
Two lawmakers—one from the opposition Republican People’s Party and another from the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy party—sustained head wounds in the fight. The speaker announced penalties against deputies who started the violence.
Ozgur Ozel, the leader of the main opposition CHP, also came out hard against the violence, openly shocked that this scene was taking place in the national legislature. “I am ashamed to have witnessed this situation,” stated Ozel, reflecting many people in Turkey who were shocked and dismayed by it all.
Exclusion from parliament has been a point of political controversy in Turkey for Atalay. In 2022, he was among seven defendants who were sentenced to 18 years in prison after a very political and highly charged trial that also included the life sentencing of famous philanthropist Osman Kavala. Though behind bars, Atalay was elected in May 2023 as a deputy for the earthquake-stricken province of Hatay, becoming a TIP deputy holding three seats in the parliament.
Supreme Court Ruling and Constitutional Court Decision
The chamber voted in January to strip him of his immunity after a ruling from the Supreme Court of Appeals upholding his conviction. But last week, on August 1, the Constitutional Court of Turkey ruled that Atalay’s removal from parliament was “null and void,” further confusing what had already been a confusing and tangled legal and political struggle.
Despite the top court’s ruling, AKP and far-right Nationalist Movement Party deputies mustered their forces on Friday to defeat an opposition motion to reinstate Atalay’s parliamentary mandate. This is part of a larger picture in Turkey, with the parliament previously having voted to lift immunity from prosecution for opposition politicians—particularly those of Kurdish origin whom the government frequently labels as “terrorists.”
The event of the violent brawl in Parliament reflects not only a deepening political division within Turkey but also a strained state relationship with critics. The incident has become a grim reminder of the challenges that democracy and the rule of law face in the country at the present moment.
