ANKARA: Turkey’s parliament passed a contested bill on Saturday tightening the government's grip on the judiciary, sparking a fist-fight that left one lawmaker with a broken nose.
Fighting erupted between ruling party and opposition lawmakers as the bill – tabled as the government grapples with a major graft scandal – was debated in a marathon 20-hour sitting.
Ali Ihsan Kokturk, a lawmaker from the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), was hospitalised with a broken nose after the brawl, while ruling party lawmaker Bayram Ozcelik's finger was broken.
The opposition says the reform is a “government manoeuvre” to limit fallout from a graft probe that has ensnared top allies of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
“The law is an apparent indicator of the ruling Justice and Development Party's (AKP) attempt to cover the corruption investigation by redesigning the judiciary,” CHP lawmaker Aykan Erdemir said.—AFP
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