Lawmakers in Turkey draw blood in brawl during parliament debate on jailed colleague

Turkey

A brawl broke out among Turkish lawmakers Friday during a heated debate over an opposition delegate currently imprisoned on what are widely considered to be politically motivated charges.

Footage released by a lawmaker showed Ahmet Sik, a representative from the same party as the jailed deputy, being attacked by a lawmaker from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling party while speaking on the chamber’s podium.

Sik had just called members of the ruling party a “terrorist organization”.

In a subsequent scuffle involving dozens of deputies, a female lawmaker was struck, leaving drops of blood on steps leading the speaker’s lectern.

Another opposition member was also reportedly injured.

The extraordinary session of the Grand National Assembly was called to debate the case of Can Atalay, who was elected from prison as a parliamentary deputy for the Workers’ Party of Turkey, or TIP, in last year’s election.

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.

It was not immediately clear when the parliamentary session would resume.