Amnesty International Secretary-General Agnès Callamard has called on Turkish authorities to release from prison a jailed politician who had been stripped of his parliamentary immunity and seat and to investigate recent turmoil in the Turkish parliament during an extraordinary session that was intended to address the status of the politician, Turkish Minute reported.
Callamard made the remarks on X on Monday as she called on Turkish authorities “to release immediately and unconditionally Can Atalay in line with three Constitutional Court rulings,” also urging them “to investigate the shocking scenes that took place in the Turkish Parliament during an emergency debate triggered by the latest binding ruling of the top court.”
Callamard was referring to an attack on an opposition lawmaker and an ensuing fistfight among ruling and opposition party lawmakers during an extraordinary session in the Turkish parliament on Friday that had been called by the opposition to restore the seat of Atalay, who was elected to parliament in the May 2023 general election from the left-wing Workers’ Party of Turkey (TİP).
Atalay is serving an 18-year sentence that was upheld by the top appeals court last year after his conviction in what’s known as the Gezi Park trial, concerning anti-government protests in 2013, labelled as a “politically motivated” trial by many.
He was not released from prison despite two Constitutional Court rulings in his favor and was stripped of his parliamentary seat earlier this year.
Friday’s extraordinary session, called by the opposition, was marked by a violent brawl that erupted when ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) MP Alpay Özalan attacked TİP lawmaker Ahmet Şık while he was delivering a speech at the beginning of the session in which he condemned the government over its treatment of Atalay.
Two opposition lawmakers who tried to calm the other deputies down as they traded punches were injured.
“The violence resulted in two opposition MPs being injured & is a bloody reminder of the brazen disregard for freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, and the impunity with which authorities continue to imprison people like Atalay for expressing dissent,” Callamard said.
She also recalled Amnesty’s declaration in June 2022 of Atalay and the other Gezi defendants as “Prisoners of Conscience,” saying their continued imprisonment is an affront to all those who care about human rights.
The Gezi Park trial defendants including Atalay and prominent businessman Osman Kavala were convicted of attempting to overthrow the government for their alleged role in the protests, which began over an urban development plan in central İstanbul and spread to other cities in Turkey.
The youth-driven demonstrations morphed into a nationwide protest against perceived corruption by the AKP and then-prime minister and current president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s growing authoritarianism.
Erdoğan’s government violently dispersed the protests and then began to crack down on its leaders.
“The complete disregard for binding domestic and international court decisions on key questions of human rights protection must be of concern to everyone in Türkiye – Upholding the human rights of one individual is a precondition of upholding them for all,” the Amnesty secretary-general added.
Another extraordinary session for Atalay?
Meanwhile, main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) Deputy Chairman Deniz Yücel has announced that his party would again call for an extraordinary session in parliament to discuss Atalay’s situation after the opposition’s attempt to restore Atalay’s seat failed on Friday.
Lawmakers of the AKP, which holds a majority in the parliament, rejected by a majority vote a request from the opposition to hold a general session to discuss the restoration of Atalay’s seat on Friday after the turmoil.
“It should be kept in mind that the fight we are giving for Atalay is not only aimed at restoring the seat of a lawmaker but for the rule of law, separation of powers, democracy and the manifestation of the nation’s will,” he told reporters following a party meeting on Monday.
In a similar development, CHP leader Özgür Özel called on Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş on Tuesday to hold an extraordinary session in parliament that would confirm Atalay’s parliamentary status.
