Video: Turkish MPs shed blood in brawl during debate over jailed MP | World News

A brawl broke out in Turkey's parliament on Friday after lawmakers met to discuss the status of an imprisoned opposition leader who was controversially stripped of parliamentary immunity earlier this year.

They met after the country's Constitutional Court overturned parliament's decision to oust Can Atalay from his parliamentary seat earlier this month.

Lawyer and human rights activist Atalay was removed from his seat in January after a heated parliamentary session, despite efforts by his left-wing fellow MPs to stop the negotiations.

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He was one of seven defendants sentenced to 18 years in prison in 2022 in a controversial trial that also saw award-winning philanthropist Osman Kavala sentenced to life imprisonment.

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From prison, 48-year-old Atalay ran for a seat in parliament in the earthquake-devastated province of Hatay in last May's parliamentary elections.

He was elected as a member of the left-wing Workers' Party of Turkey, which has three seats in parliament.

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But that electoral victory sparked a legal battle between supporters of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and opposition leaders that brought Turkey to the brink of a constitutional crisis last year.

Parliament's decision in January to remove Atalay followed a ruling by the Supreme Court of Appeal that upheld his conviction, paving the way for the lifting of his parliamentary immunity.

But on August 1, the Constitutional Court – a body that examines whether judges’ rulings are compatible with Turkey’s constitution – published its verdict in the case.

It declared Atalay’s removal as MP “null and void”.

On Friday, TIP MP Ahmet Sik defended Atalay against attacks by the ruling party’s MPs.

“It is no surprise that you call Atalay a terrorist,” he said.

“All citizens should know that the biggest terrorists in this country are those sitting on these benches,” he said, referring to the ruling majority.

This comment sparked angry reactions from members of the ruling party and prompted the chairman to call a rift.

Scuffles broke out after former soccer player Alpay Ozalan, a member of Erdogan's ruling AKP party, stepped up to the lectern and pushed Sik to the ground, an AFP journalist said in parliament.

Another opposition MP was injured while trying to calm the session.

Footage published on the Internet shows the brawl and how staff subsequently cleaned the bloodstains from the floor of Parliament.

The Turkish parliament had previously voted to lift immunity from opposition politicians, many of whom are Kurds who are considered “terrorists” by the government.