A violent brawl erupted in the Turkish Parliament on Wednesday immediately before the swearing-in of Akın Gürlek as the nation’s new justice minister, the result of opposition lawmakers arguing that Gürlek was an inappropriate choice for the role.
Reports differ on which side — the ruling Islamist Justice and Development Party (AKP), or the opposition secularist Republican People’s Party (CHP) — started the fighting. Reports close to Islamist strongman ruler Recep Tayyip Erdogan claimed that the CHP lawmakers attempted to physically prevent the inauguration, while CHP lawmakers who were hurt during the melee claimed that the AKP lawmakers in the chamber attacked them.
As of Thursday, CHP lawmakers were still arguing that Gürlek was not legitimately the justice minister of the country, although the swearing-in ceremony did occur after lawmakers broke up the brawl. One CHP leader claimed that, in part due to the chaos, the minutes of the Parliament session did not properly record the inauguration, thus making it invalid.
Gürlek is a controversial choice for justice minister as he served previously as the top public prosecutor in Istanbul and played a key role in the imprisonment of its mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu. Imamoglu, a CHP leader, is among Turkey’s most popular politicians who won two separate elections to become mayor in 2024 after Erdogan’s ruling party attempted to nullify his first victory; he won the second election by a higher margin. The Erdogan regime arrested Imamglu in March 2025 on dubious corruption charges levied by Gürlek. The mayor stands accused of over 150 crimes and faces over 2,000 years in prison, a typically over-the-top prosecution against political opponents in Erdogan’s Turkey.
Images from the Turkish parliament on Wednesday showed lawmakers in suits beating each other bare-fisted, often going for each other’s heads, and at least one man falling to the floor in the scrum. Some reports indicated that participants in the brawl took off their shoes, presumably to beat their colleagues with them. According to the opposition-friendly newspaper Cumhuriyet, three lawmakers were taken to the hospital after the brawl, though no one was seriously injured.
Some reports indicated that the brawl began when some CHP lawmakers attempted to block the podium where Gürlek was expected to take his oath of office, prompting AKP lawmakers to beat the CHP officials.
CHP lawmaker Mahmut Tanal, one of the three hospitalized who reportedly suffered a nose injury, claimed that the AKP politicians were the first to swing their firsts in a statement after being discharged.
“Contrary to what was publicly stated in yesterday’s incident, it is not the Republican People’s Party wing that first occupied the podium,” Tanal claimed. “While our Group Deputy Chairman Murat Emir was advancing towards the podium, AKP MPs [members of parliament] ran collectively and simultaneously, closed the area around the podium, and blocked the area around the podium. Thus, the first move actually towards the podium was made by the AKP wing.”
Tanal described the attack by the AKP as “organized” and pre-planned.
Senior CHP lawmaker Murat Emir issued a statement lamenting that the oath of office was completed.
“The appointment of Gürlek as Minister of Justice means that the person who put the final nail in the coffin of justice was just made a guard of that coffin,” Emir declared. “Erdoğan, who appointed him minister, accepted that the cases in Istanbul [against Imamoglu and allies] were political.”
Emir insisted later that the oath was invalid because it was not recorded in the Parliament session minutes and the podium had been “occupied,” an argument that the AKP and Erdogan appear to be ignoring at press time.
Gürlek himself issued a statement celebrating his position on Wednesday and addressing the Turkish people, writing, “We will continue to work with determination and perseverance in the cause of serving our nation and state in the name of the administration of justice.”
The prosecution of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu is arguably the single most controversial political issue in Turkey today, given how popular the mayor is in his city and among those who oppose the Erdogan regime’s Islamism and proximity to terrorist groups such as Hamas. Following his arrest last year, Istanbul erupted into days of chaotic and occasionally violent protests, which became an international sensation after images surfaced of a protester dressed as Pikachu, the mascot of the video game series Pokémon, being attacked by police forces.
“The pepper spray being shot at even Pikachu won’t spare you or me!” the CHP’s official social media account warned at the time, sharing the video.
In November, Gürlek’s prosecution team published an indictment accusing Imamoglu and over 100 others of being part of a conspiracy to engage in corruption. Imamoglu himself, a top 2028 presidential candidate, is facing charges on nearly 150 crimes. Prosecutors are requesting a 2,000-year prison sentence for the mayor.
“According to the statement released by the prosecutor’s office, the organized crime investigation bureau has prepared the indictment,” the pro-Erdogan newspaper Daily Sabah reported at the time, “which involves 105 suspects currently under arrest, 170 under judicial control, and seven with outstanding arrest warrants. Additionally, five individuals were listed as ‘complainant-suspects’ under judicial control.”