4 Turkish lawmakers injured in parliament session brawl
Xinhua, February 18, 2015 Adjust font size:
Four Turkish lawmakers were injured in a fight while debating a security bill at a parliament session late Tuesday, private Dogan news agency reported on Wednesday.
The lawmakers went into the brawl during a closed session as the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) were trying to push through a "security package" to step up police powers, said the report, adding that the opposition parties rejected the program.
"They attacked with the gavel and bell and hit us with iron chairs," daily Hurriyet quoted a lawmaker as saying.
"Hustle and bustle has always existed in parliament but I have never seen something like this," he added.
The injured parliament members were taken to hospitals for treatment and the session was adjourned until later in the day.
The opposition political parties argued that the controversial bill could create a police state under the rule of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Earlier, lawmakers had resorted to a number of tactics to delay the debate over the so-called "homeland security reform" bill.
The ruling AKP presented the draft law to the parliament following the deadly pro-Kurdish protests in October, last year. Endit