A heated debate in the Turkish parliament erupted into a physical brawl on Friday, with lawmakers from opposing parties clashing over the case of a jailed opposition deputy.
The altercation began when Ahmet Sik, a representative from the Workers' Party of Turkey (TIP), called members of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling party a "terrorist organisation" while speaking at the podium. He was immediately approached and attacked by a lawmaker from the ruling party.
Televised footage showed a subsequent scuffle involving dozens of deputies, a female lawmaker was struck, leaving drops of blood on steps leading to the speaker's lectern. Another opposition member was also reportedly injured. Physical tussles are not uncommon among Turkey's lawmakers.
Watch the video here:
The extraordinary session of parliament was called to debate the case of Can Atalay, a TIP deputy elected from prison last year. 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, then Turkey's prime minister.
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.
He has achieved successful rulings from the Constitutional Court, however, lower courts ignored these rulings. This sparked a judicial crisis and inflamed a sense of injustice among his supporters.
Opposition parties demanded a special session to discuss Atalay's case, leading to Friday's heated debate. The TIP has accused the government of trying to silence opposition voices and undermine the rule of law.
The conviction of Atalay and seven other defendants in the Gezi Park case has led to widespread criticism from human rights groups and lawyers. The European Court of Human Rights has twice called for the release of philanthropist Osman Kavala, who was jailed for life without parole in the same case.
Amnesty International's Turkey office said on Friday: "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."
The parliamentary session resumed after three hours, with both Sik and his assailant accepting reprimands from the parliament's speaker.
