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Turkish lawmakers draw blood after fistfight breaks out during debate on jailed opposition colleague
A fistfight broke out among Turkish lawmakers on Friday during a heated debate over an opposition delegate who is currently jailed on what are widely considered to be politically motivated charges.
Video footage showed lawmakers from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling AKP party rushing to punch Ahmet Sik, a representative from the same party as the imprisoned deputy, while at the lectern. Sik had just called members of the ruling party a “terrorist organization.”
Cagla Gurdogan / REUTERS
“We’re not surprised that you call Can Atalay a terrorist, just as you do everyone who does not side with you,” Sik told AKP lawmakers in a speech, according to Reuters.
“But the biggest terrorists are the ones sitting in these seats,” he added.
Dozens of deputies joined the melee, some trying to hold others back. In the chaos, a female lawmaker was struck, leaving drops of blood on the white steps leading up to the speaker’s lectern. Another opposition member was also reportedly injured.
“It is a shameful situation,” said Ozgur Ozel, who heads the largest opposition party. “Instead of words flying in the air, fists are flying, there is blood on the ground. They are hitting women.”
Pro-Kurdish DEM Party group chairwoman Gulistan Kocyigit, who was also punched, said the ruling party was trying to silence the opposition with violence.
“It was clear that they came very prepared and planned… They are trying to silence our speech and our voice with pressure, violence and force,” Kocyigit said, according to Reuters.
Physical tussles are not uncommon among Turkey’s lawmakers.
Cagla Gurdogan / REUTERS
The extraordinary session of the Turkish Grand National Assembly was called to debate the case of Can Atalay, who was elected from prison as a parliamentary deputy for the Workers’ Party of Turkey, or TIP, in last year’s election.
He had been sentenced the previous year to 18 years’ imprisonment for his role in anti-government protests in 2013, which challenged the rule of Erdogan, then Turkey’s prime minister.
Since being elected, Atalay has been fighting to take his seat in parliament, which comes with immunity from prosecution and would see him released from Marmara prison. He has said he would return to prison once his term ends.
Although he has achieved successful rulings from the Constitutional Court, these have been ignored by lower courts, sparking a judicial crisis and enflaming a sense of injustice among his supporters.
In its third ruling in Atalay’s favor, the Constitutional Court on Aug. 1 said the decision to strip him of his parliamentary status was “null and void.”
Opposition parties then demanded a special session to discuss the case.
Cagla Gurdogan / REUTERS
The conviction of Atalay and seven other defendants in the Gezi Park case led to widespread criticism from human rights groups and lawyers.
The main defendant, philanthropist Osman Kavala, was jailed for life without parole. The European Court of Human Rights has twice called for his release, saying his detention was arbitrary and based on political motives.
The Gezi Park protests began in the summer of 2013 with an environmental camp to stop the development of a central Istanbul park. The discontent soon spread to other cities as people protested against Erdogan’s increasingly authoritarian rule.
“Atalay’s personal freedom and security, as well as his right to be elected, which the Constitutional Court ruled to have been violated, should be restored,” Amnesty International’s Turkey office said Friday in a social media post.
The parliamentary session resumed after three hours, with both Sik and his assailant accepting reprimands from the parliament’s speaker.
Washington — The House Ethics Committee has quietly voted to release its report on the investigation into former Rep. Matt Gaetz regarding allegations of sexual misconduct and obstruction, two sources familiar with the matter said, reversing course after Republicans originally blocked its release.
The report will likely be unveiled in the coming days, after the final votes of the 118th Congress, the sources said. Lawmakers face a Friday deadline to approve new government funding and avoid a shutdown before heading home for the holidays. CNN first reported on Thursday that the committee voted behind closed doors to release the report earlier this month.
House Republicans recently blocked two Democratic resolutions that would have compelled the Ethics Committee to release the potentially damaging report on its investigation into Gaetz, voting to refer the matter back to the committee.
Gaetz resigned from Congress shortly after President-elect Donald Trump said he planned to nominate Gaetz to be attorney general in November. But Gaetz soon withdrew from consideration, facing a likely contentious confirmation process. Gaetz has said he does not intend to take the oath of office for the same seat in the 119th Congress, and is launching a new show on the pro-Trump One America News Network in January.
It’s highly unusual, but not unprecedented, for the House Ethics Committee to release a report on a member who is no longer in office. Congressional leaders, including some Democrats, have expressed concerns about the precedent set by unveiling the Gaetz report.
In June, the committee released a statement saying it was investigating allegations against Gaetz that included sexual misconduct, illicit drug use, and bribery.
Multiple sources at the time told CBS News that four women had informed the Ethics Committee that they had been paid to go to parties that included sex and drugs, and that Gaetz had also attended. The committee has Gaetz’s Venmo transactions that allegedly show payments for the women.
Gaetz has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and has called the committee’s investigation a “frivolous” smear campaign.
Some of the sexual misconduct allegations under review by the committee were the subject of a previous Department of Justice probe into Gaetz. Federal investigators sought to determine if Gaetz violated sex trafficking and obstruction of justice laws, but no charges were filed.
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Monkeys have been spotting roaming in unusual places in central Florida recently — and the police are warning residents to stay away.
The Orange City Police Department said on social media that it had received “multiple reports of monkey sightings” in the town, which is in Volusia County. People who see monkeys should not feed or approach them, the department said, but should contact the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
A viral video from a river near Orange City, taken by a river tour operator, shows a monkey hanging out on a wooded bank.
“I looked up into a tree and kind of went, ‘What’s that!?'” Colin Innes of St. John’s River Eco Tours, told CBS affiliate WKMG. “I got a little bit closer and realized that I had a monkey probably about 30 feet from me. And trust me, that’s not something you see out here on a regular basis whatsoever, so I was shocked.”
Meanwhile, a Volusia County elementary school principal had to warn parents about a monkey after seeing one run through the school’s drop-off area on Wednesday, according to WKMG.
An area woman told WKMG that she saw a monkey climbing on her fence. First, she thought the animal was a cat, but then she realized how large it was.
“I have three cats and so I looked at his body and was like, ‘Wow that’s really big,'” said Evelyn Coira Arquette. “I mean, we’re talking about four feet probably long.”
Officials have not commented on what species of monkey is being spotted. WKMG said officials have not confirmed if residents are spotting multiple monkeys or if they’re seeing the same primate in multiple locations.
Police have told residents not to feed the monkeys, which is prohibited by a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission rule passed in 2017. Monkeys are more likely to return to an area and may become aggressive if they are fed by people, WKMG reported.
Residents should also take care to dispose of uneaten food and garbage in closed trash containers, so monkeys can’t access them. Any sightings should be reported, and if a monkey is seen in the area, children should be kept close and pets should be leashed. If bitten or scratched by a wild monkey, seek medical attention immediately.
Last month, 43 monkeys escaped from a research facility in South Carolina, prompting warnings for nearby residents to secure their doors and windows. Four of the monkeys are reportedly still on the loose.