AKP's Alpay Özalan attacks Ahmet Şık, blood shed in Turkish Parliament: Call from Özgür Özel to Numan Kurtulmuş
A fight broke out in the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM), which had convened for an extraordinary session regarding Gezi prisoner Can Atalay. AKP MP Alpay Özalan attacked TİP MP Ahmet Şık. The session in Parliament was suspended. Condemning the attack, CHP leader Özgür Özel addressed Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş.
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The General Assembly of the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM) convened for an extraordinary session under the chairmanship of Deputy Speaker Bekir Bozdağ to discuss the CHP's motion for a "general debate regarding the Constitutional Court's decision on the revocation of Can Atalay's parliamentary membership."
ATTACK ON AHMET ŞIK BY AKP'S ÖZALAN
While TİP MP Ahmet Şık was delivering his speech at the podium, AKP MP Alpay Özalan punched him.
AKP MP Alpay Özalan attacked TİP MP Ahmet Şık, who was speaking at the podiumhttps://t.co/MUk674ZqWY pic.twitter.com/fgZvkY1ypj
— 12punto (@12puntohaber) August 16, 2024
BLOOD SHED IN PARLIAMENT...
As other MPs intervened to break up the fight, chaos ensued and many people were injured.
Bullying in Parliament!
— Burhanettin Bulut (@eczburhan) August 16, 2024
Blood was shed during the extraordinary session held for Can Atalay in the TBMM General Assembly. During the fight, DEM Party Group Deputy Chair Gülistan Kılıç Koçyiğit suffered a cut to her eyebrow. pic.twitter.com/SEkTOMhozw
While the session was suspended, images of parliamentary staff cleaning blood off the floor drew attention.
ÖZEL CONDEMNED THE ATTACK, CALLED ON NUMAN KURTULMUŞ
Following the attack on TİP MP Ahmet Şık, CHP Chairman Özgür Özel made a statement.
Condemning the events in the TBMM, Özel called on Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş and said the following:
“Things that should never happen in Parliament are happening. Shameful scenes. Everything happened right before my eyes. Parliament is the place where words are spoken. If blood is starting to be shed in Parliament, what will the citizens do? This is truly very shameful. Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş needs to intervene in this situation as a matter of urgency. In a place where words should be flying, fists and kicks are flying. There is blood on the floor. They are hitting women. They are hitting women right before our eyes. I continue to call on Mr. Numan Kurtulmuş to immediately summon the chairmen of all political parties to a meeting. This has truly become an unbearable burden for Parliament. We are in a place where a Parliamentary Administrative Officer punches an MP and commits violence against a woman. Our colleague was injured while trying to break up the fight. Ms. Gülistan Koçyiğit was injured while trying to prevent the attack on the podium.”