A brawl-like situation broke out inside Turkey parliament on Wednesday after the ruling party and the opposition clashed over the appointment of a controversial leader as judicial minister in a cabinet reshuffle.
A brawl-like situation erupted inside the Turkey parliament on Wednesday between the members of the ruling and the opposition party as they clashed over the appointment of a controversial leader as judicial minister in a cabinet reshuffle.
Opposition leaders tried to block the way of Istanbul chief prosecutor Akin Gurlek from taking the oath of office in parliament. Legislators were also seen pushing, with hurling punches on each other.
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PUNCHES IN PARLIAMENT: A brawl erupted in Turkey’s parliament as members of the main opposition attempted to block a newly appointed Justice Minister from taking his oath of office. pic.twitter.com/EvZ7lvEx5g
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As Istanbul chief prosecutor, Gürlek had presided over high‑profile trials against several members of the main opposition party, the Republican People’s Party (CHP), proceedings that the opposition has long denounced as politically motivated.
Hundreds of officials from CHP-run municipalities have been arrested in corruption probes. Among them was Istanbul’s mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, widely seen as Erdogan’s chief rival, who was arrested last year.
No official statement was given for Wednesday’s shake-up, the official gazette said that the outgoing ministers were requested to be relieved of their duties.
The new appointments came as Turkey is debating possible constitutional reforms and pursuing a peace initiative with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, aimed at ending a decades‑long conflict. Parliament is expected to pass reforms to support the process.
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