ANKARA // Turkey’s parliament passed a contested bill on Saturday that tightens the government’s grip on the judiciary, sparking a brawl that left one member with a broken nose.
Fighting erupted between ruling party and opposition lawmakers as the bill – tabled as the government grapples with a major corruption scandal – was debated in a marathon 20-hour sitting.
Ali Ihsan Kokturk, a member of parliament from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), was taken to hospital with a broken nose after the brawl, while an MP from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), Bayram Ozcelik’s finger was broken.
The opposition says the reform is a “government manoeuvre” to limit fallout from a graft investigation that has ensnared top allies of the prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
“The law is an apparent indicator of the ruling Justice and Development Party’s attempt to cover the corruption investigation by redesigning the judiciary,” said Aykan Erdemir, an MP from the CHP.
Parliament resumed debate of the bill on Friday despite an uproar from opposition parties and the international community who warned it threatened the independence of the judiciary.
The reform package gives the justice ministry greater sway over the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK), an independent body responsible for appointing members of the judiciary.
It would change the make-up of the HSYK and give the justice minister the right to launch investigations into its members.
The measures were passed on Saturday morning with 210 votes in favour and 28 against.
Riza Turmen, an MP from the CHP, said his party would challenge the law, which still needs the president’s signature to come into force, before the constitutional court.
“The law is against the general spirit of the constitution that guarantees judicial independence,” he said.
“HSYK is key to judicial independence. An independent judiciary is only possible with an independent HSYK”.
* Agence France-Presse
