Fist and Shout

Issue #222

We’re back and we’ve got news: Our team is setting up bureaus in Ankara (Diego) and Eskişehir (Gonca) to expand our domestic political coverage.

This comes after the successful launch of our Economy recap, and by widening our footprint, we aim to keep delivering original, on-the-ground reporting from around the country.

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In this week’s recap:

• Lawmakers brawl over Atalay case

• Abbas addresses parliament

• Access bans on Instagram, Roblox and Wattpad

• Criticism over İmamoğlu’s Paris trip

• Domestic and diplomatic wraps

• Özel shares foot X-rays to end conspiracies

Also from us this week: 

• Burcu Özkaya Günaydın reports on the Hatay residents fighting to keep their properties amid post-quake rebuilding efforts.

The Meclis fight started after Özalan attacked Şık. Dozens of MPs were involved. Source

Since at least 2023, Turkey has been witnessing a long battle between the country's two top courts – the Supreme Court of Appeals (Yargıtay) and the Constitutional Court (AYM) – and this legal controversy gained a new dimension with some Meclis action and inaction last week.

MPs convened for a special session Friday during their summer break following a call by seven opposition parties regarding AYM's latest decision on the Can Atalay case.

Many deputies ended up brawling, and when the time came to vote on their colleague’s parliamentary status, 239 of them said “Nay, let’s continue our vacations” against 210 in favor.

Atalay, a lawyer, rights activist, and one of the seven jailed Gezi defendants, was elected to parliament in May 2023 with the Workers' Party of Turkey (TİP) all while in prison. Both his parliamentary status and captivity have since become a point of contention for AYM and Yargıtay to exhibit their power.

The AYM ruled twice that Atalay's imprisonment, despite his parliamentary immunity, is a violation of his constitutional rights. However, these rulings were not upheld by the Yargıtay and lower courts. In January, the Turkish parliament stripped Atalay of his parliamentary status. But once again, the AYM declared the decision null and void.

The opposition demanded the restoration of Atalay's parliamentary mandate at Friday's session. MP's from Saadet, İYİ Party and DEM Party noted in their speeches that AYM's decision was binding for parliament and that ignoring it would be unconstitutional.

Then TİP deputy Ahmet Şık addressed parliament, and things got heated. Şık accused AKP politicians of being “the biggest terrorists of the country,” and seconds later, AKP MP Alpay Özalan’s infamous slap arrived.

The attack quickly turned into a full-fledged melee that lasted 30 minutes and left three MPs injured. The hearing was then suspended for three hours.

Atalay's lawyer, Akçay Taşçı, told Turkey recap the “Nay” vote was not a "big surprise" since politicians from the ruling coalition had publicized their stances before the vote.

"Yet, still, it is very saddening and frightening in terms of where this country is headed," Taşçı said. "The government has opened the door to an environment where citizens' constitutional rights are in danger and are not recognized."

He reiterated that this was not the first time AYM rulings had been ignored, but added: "This time, parliament declared that it's not abiding by the AYM. This is a new stage, a desperate stage.”

MHP deputies didn't attend the parliamentary session, and the party leader, Devlet Bahçeli, said in his X message after the decision that "AK Party had done what's necessary even without MHP.” Bahçeli added "this is the end of discussion" about Atalay's case.

"MHP locked the country into a lawlessness mentality," journalist Gökçer Tahincioğlu told Turkey recap.

Tahincioğlu said he believes that the nationalist party’s real aim is to send a message to courts by not abiding with AYM rulings on the Atalay case. Noting there are several ongoing cases against DEM deputies, Tahincioğlu claimed Bahçeli wants to “ensure the door stays closed for them."

“Currently, AKP is politically dependent on MHP,” the seasoned Ankara journalist told Turkey recap. "If Erdoğan knew that he could win the elections without MHP, he'd leave the table. But he knows he can’t. His only hope is for Şimşek to fix the economy. Until then, he needs MHP."

– Gonca Tokyol

Abbas, Erdoğan and Parliament Pres. Kurtulmuş pictured Aug. 15. © TCCB

Your place or Palestine: Abbas addresses parliament