Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş on Feb. 12 condemned a brawl that broke out in the legislature after lawmakers from the ruling and opposition parties clashed over the appointment of a top prosecutor as justice minister.
"This coercion, this forceful action, is unbecoming of the dignity of the TBMM [Turkish parliament]. It has been recorded as an attempt against the constitution,” Kurtulmuş said at a press conference in Ankara.
Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) lawmakers attempted to block Akın Gürlek — appointed by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to head the Justice Ministry — from taking the oath of office in parliament on Feb. 11, prompting a heated confrontation on the chamber floor.
"This behavior is unjust and inappropriate, an act against democracy. It is unacceptable," Kurtulmuş said. "Preventing the oath-taking is not part of democracy. Occupying the podium is not part of democracy. The CHP's behavior is an act against democracy. Those footages were unbecoming of parliament."
As tensions escalated, legislators were seen pushing each other, with some throwing punches. Authorities adjourned the session for 15 minutes before proceedings resumed. Gürlek was later sworn in while surrounded by ruling Justice and Development Part (AKP) lawmakers.
Erdoğan also accused the CHP of undermining the prestige of parliament.
“We have once again witnessed the fascist and arrogant mentality of the CHP. They displayed all kinds of thuggery, including occupying the parliamentary podium, to prevent our ministers from taking their oaths,” he said in Ankara.
Gürlek, previously Istanbul’s chief prosecutor, oversaw several high-profile trials involving CHP members, cases the opposition describes as politically motivated. He has also ordered investigations into several CHP figures on allegations ranging from corruption to terror links and insulting the president.
Dozens of officials from CHP-run municipalities have been detained on corruption charges they deny, including Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, who was arrested the same day he was named the CHP’s candidate for the next presidential election.
İmamoğlu, 54, faces multiple legal cases, including one in which he is accused of questioning Gürlek’s integrity.
Meanwhile, Ramazan Yıldız, head of the CHP’s youth branch in Istanbul’s Adalar district, was arrested on Feb. 12 for “targeting individuals who have served in counter-terrorism operations” in a social media post concerning Gürlek’s appointment.
An Istanbul court also sentenced Cem Aydın, leader of the party’s youth branch, to one year and five months in prison for insulting a public official after reposting a video prepared by the CHP about Gürlek last month.
Prosecutors have earlier opened an investigation into CHP leader Özgür Özel over allegations that he threatened and insulted Gürlek.
The cabinet reshuffle that installed Gürlek also named Mustafa Çiftçi, governor of the eastern city of Erzurum, as interior minister. No official reason was provided for the changes in a presidential decree.
