Turkey's parliament has passed a contested bill tightening the government's grip on the judiciary, sparking a fist fight that left one MP with a broken nose.
Fighting erupted on Saturday between ruling party and opposition MPs as the bill - tabled as the government grapples with a major graft scandal - was debated in a marathon 20-hour sitting.
Ali Ihsan Kokturk, an MP from the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), was hospitalised with a broken nose after the brawl, while ruling party MP 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.
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 in the European Union hopeful country.
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.
CHP lawmaker Riza Turmen said his party would challenge the law, which still needs the president's signature to come into force, before the Constitutional Court.
Last month, President Abdullah Gul stepped in to resolve the deadlock by pushing for the judicial reforms to be passed as constitutional amendments, which would require cross-party support.
But the president's initiative failed after disagreements between ruling and opposition party MPs.
