Former deputy said to throw punch at CHP MP Sarıgül at Turkish parliament

A former deputy from the ANAP, Turan Tüysüz, has reportedly thrown a punch at main opposition CHP deputy Mustafa Sarıgül at the parliament. “I am extremely upset that such an event has happened at the parliament,” Sarıgül said after the incident while denying Tüysüz punched him.

Tuesday July 25 2023 03:52 pm

This file photo shows CHP MP Mustafa Sarıgül

Duvar English

Turan Tüysüz, former center-right Motherland Party (ANAP) deputy, on July 25 reportedly threw a punch at main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) deputy Mustafa Sarıgül at the parliament.

Speaking after the incident, Sarıgül said he is “extremely saddened to face such an unfortunate event” while there is an extraordinary election on Turkey's agenda. “(Tüysüz) approached me and asked me some questions. I said, 'I don't know, this is not the place for this'. I walked away, and he kept talking back and forth.”

“I am deeply saddened by the fact that a friend of ours, who was a member of parliament in the past, does not know where or what to speak. As a friend of yours who has always been on the side of people who are on the side of peace, love and seeking rights, I am extremely upset that such an event took place in the parliament. I hope that such an event will not happen under the roof of the parliament anymore,” Sarıgül added, according to reporting from the ANKA News Agency.

While eyewitnesses claimed that Tüysüz punched Sarıgül, the latter denied it and said “No, nothing like that happened.”

Sarıgül said “I haven't seen the gentleman for 15 years. I knew him before but he has changed a lot.”

Tüysüz first said “I don't know” to the journalists who asked about the punch, then he said “There is no such thing.”

Turan Tüysüz was elected as Şanlıurfa deputy from the CHP in the 2002 general elections. He resigned from the CHP in 2005 and joined the Motherland Party (ANAP).