Clashes Erupt During Oath-Taking of New Justice Minister Akin Gurlek
Shouting Matches and Flying Fists
In the Turkish parliament, ruling and opposition lawmakers engaged in a brawl, trading punches. Opposition lawmakers staged a placard protest to block the inauguration oath of the new Minister of Justice, and ruling party lawmakers confronted them, leading to the clash.
On the 11th, a brawl broke out between ruling and opposition lawmakers in the Turkish parliament over the appointment of the new Minister of Justice, Gurelek Akin. Reuters and Yonhap News
According to AP and Euronews on the 12th (local time), on the previous day a physical fight broke out in the Turkish parliament after tensions arose between ruling and opposition lawmakers ahead of the inauguration oath of the new Minister of Justice, Akin Gurelek. The scene was broadcast live to the Turkish public.
As Minister Gurelek, appointed by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, stepped up to the podium to take the oath, lawmakers from the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) rushed forward to block him. Lawmakers from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) joined in, and a heated argument ensued.
Ruling and opposition lawmakers are throwing punches and shoving each other in the Turkish parliament. Euronews YouTube
The argument soon escalated into a full-on brawl. In the footage broadcast live to the Turkish public, a few lawmakers began throwing punches, prompting other nearby lawmakers to rush in as well. They shouted at the top of their lungs and grappled with one another.
Media outlets reported that one lawmaker suffered a broken nose and that several other lawmakers sustained various injuries in the melee. The floor of the parliament chamber was also reportedly damaged.
After a 15-minute recess, Minister Gurelek’s oath was finally resumed. Surrounded and shielded by ruling party lawmakers, he completed the oath.
On the 11th, a brawl broke out between ruling and opposition lawmakers in the Turkish parliament over the appointment of Akin Gurelek as the new justice minister. AP Yonhap News Agency
The new Minister of Justice, Akin Gurelek, is known as a hard-liner and a close confidant of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has been in power since 2003, and has been at the forefront of pressuring the opposition. The opposition has strongly opposed his appointment, viewing it as a declaration of war aimed at bringing the judiciary under control.
Physical altercations in the Turkish parliament are nothing new. Turkey is notorious for repeated physical clashes between lawmakers whenever political tensions flare. In December last year, during deliberations on the 2026 budget bill, emotions ran high and dozens of ruling and opposition lawmakers became entangled in a mass brawl, with some sustaining injuries.
In addition, in November 2024, fierce fighting broke out in protest after the government dismissed opposition-affiliated mayors. In August of the same year, confrontation over the expulsion of an opposition lawmaker also intensified and escalated into physical clashes.
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