2024-08-19 00:48:00
A major brawl broke out in the Turkish parliament during a debate on jailed lawmaker Can Atalay, who is serving an 18-year sentence for his role in the 2013 Istanbul housing protests, TBMM reports.
The Turkish parliament has convened for an extraordinary session to decide the issue of Can Atalay’s parliamentary status. He is serving an 18-year sentence for his involvement in the 2013 Istanbul construction protests. However, he was able to successfully run for parliament from prison as a candidate for the Workers’ Party of Turkey.
During his speech from the podium, his colleague Ahmet Şik shouted at the Justice and Development Party deputies: “You have no shame!” After a forced break, Şik began criticizing the government again – and a fight broke out.
It is worth noting that the leader of the Justice and Development Party is the current President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Brawl Erupts in Turkish Parliament After MP’s Arrest Sparks Outrage | Amaravati Todayhttps://t.co/6JnBFtTepN#Turkey #Parliament #PoliticalFight #Opposition #GovernmentProtests #MP #Democracy #TurkishPolitics #FreeSpeech #ProtestRights #PoliticalTensions #TurkeyNews… pic.twitter.com/6BrdNRq3W6
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In a video circulating on social media, Justice and Development Party MP Alpay Özalan can be seen hitting Şik while he is standing behind the podium and Şik falls to the ground. At that moment, other MPs rush to intervene and a scuffle ensues.
Let us recall that Can Atalay is one of the participants in the case related to the mass protests against the government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan in 2013, which began due to a project to rebuild the center of Istanbul and spread to other cities in Turkey.
Erdogan then brutally dispersed the protests, after which Atalay and another organizer, businessman and dissident Osman Kaval, began to be persecuted.
Earlier, “Kursor” reported that in May a similar situation occurred in Georgia – there were fights between representatives of the ruling party and the opposition, the law on foreign agents was to blame.