ALBAWABA - Parliamentarians fought at the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM) General Assembly during the Can Atalay session, causing injuries and stress. High drama forced TBMM Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş to suspend the session five times before continuing.
After the incident, AK Party's Alpay Özalan and TİP member Ahmet Şık were formally reprimanded. The majority rejected the opposition's suggestion to address Can Atalay.
Following a Constitutional Court verdict, opposition MPs requested an emergency session of the Turkish Parliament. After TİP MP Ahmet Şık made critical statements about the AK Party, the session turned acrimonious and came to a temporary pause. Şık criticized the AK Party as the "biggest terrorists" in Turkey during the resumption of the session. The ruling party reacted strongly.
Alpay Özalan, the Parliamentary Administrative Officer of the AK Party, physically confronted Şık, seizing him by the throat to remove him off the stage. Şık responded by hitting Özalan, leading to a larger encounter between AK Party and DEM Party members. The several-minute fight injured numerous MPs, including women. Cleanup workers were called to the assembly room due to bloodstains.
After the altercation, a 45-minute pause was called to treat any injuries. CHP leader Özgür Özel described the violence as highly alarming, citing MPs throwing punches and kicks in the assembly and blood on the floor. He advised TBMM Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş to act decisively to prevent such occurrences from becoming routine.
Numan Kurtulmuş reprimanded Ahmet Şık and Alpay Özalan when the session restarted, as part of a consensual decision. A majority vote rejected the opposition's call for a wide discussion on Can Atalay.
