MPs from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) physically attacked an opposition MP on Friday during an extraordinary meeting called to discuss the recent Constitutional Court decision on the status of Hatay MP Can Atalay.

The session, which took place after the top court ruled that Atalay's removal from parliament was unconstitutional and "null and void," saw tensions escalate when Ahmet Şık, an MP from Atalay’s Workers' Party of Turkey (TIP), took to the floor. 

During his speech, Şık sharply criticized the ruling party, accusing them of lacking integrity. "You have no shame. You have no dignity," Şık said. His remarks were met with uproar from AKP members, leading to a brief suspension of the session by Deputy Speaker Bekir Bozdağ.

The situation further deteriorated when AKP Izmir MP Alpay Özalan, a former footballer known for previous altercations in parliament, charged at Şık and physically assaulted him on the rostrum. Özalan was soon joined by other deputies from the ruling party.

During the attack by AKP MPs, Özalan hit DEM Party Group Deputy Chair Gülistan Kılıç Koçyiğit. Koçyiğit's eyebrow was split during the fight.

DEM Party issued statement about the attack

DEM Party co-chairs Tülay Hatimoğulları and Tuncer Bakırhan made a written statement about the attack.

The statement said: "The government, which could not stomach the opposition's call for an extraordinary meeting of the Turkish Grand National Assembly, has found the solution in attacks that amount to physical violence. The attack on our female deputies by male AKP deputies is political banditry. These attacks do not recognize the will of the people, the law, and are political incompetence. None of our friends, especially our Group Deputy Chair, will step back in the face of these attacks."

The DEM Party Women's Assembly also made a statement and said, "Once again, the representatives of political power have demonstrated their sexism. The government, which has made it a policy to suppress those it cannot defeat politically with violence and tyranny, has once again put into effect the policy of suppression aimed at silencing the voices of the opposition and women. In the attack, our Group Deputy Chair Gülistan Kılıç Koçyiğit was the target of violence by the representatives of the fascist power."