A stabbing in Turkey's Gaziantep province has hospitalized an opposition legislator, Anadolu reported. The assault occurred while Melih Meric conversed with residents, a confrontation that Governor Kemal Çeber said escalated when another individual produced a blade. Medical professionals at the treatment facility found that Meric – a member of Turkey's recently established opposition movement – sustained intestinal damage requiring surgery but remained in stable condition, Anadolu stated.
Law enforcement officials are pursuing the alleged assailant, believed to be a former provincial administrator within the Republican People's Party (CHP), according to the governor's account shared with Anadolu. Meric serves in parliament as part of the New Party, a political organization launched last July by opposition leader Özgür Özel, who had previously led the CHP.
Turkish opposition member Melih Meriç was stabbed and seriously injured, allegedly by a fellow member of his former party. pic.twitter.com/ntqQSVkVdx
— Gameover 🇦🇺🇮🇱 (@MarkoS2075) August 19, 2026
Özel's transition to forming the New Party followed his removal as CHP chairman through court intervention – an action that resulted in the transfer of numerous parliamentary seats and representatives from the established opposition party to the fledgling political entity, Anadolu reported. The nature of the attack – whether rooted in political grievances or other motivations – remained uncertain at the time of reporting.
A statement from Justice Minister Akın Gürlek on X condemned the stabbing incident, noting that the nation's chief public prosecutor's office had opened a formal case.
