ANKARA:
An opposition Turkish lawmaker died on Thursday, two days after struggling a coronary heart assault and collapsing in entrance of parliament as he completed a speech criticising the federal government’s coverage towards Israel.
Hasan Bitmez, 54, a member of parliament from the opposition Felicity (Saadet) Celebration, died in Ankara Metropolis Hospital, Well being Minister Fahrettin Koca advised reporters in televised remarks.
A graduate of Cairo’s Al Azhar College, Bitmez was the chairman of the Centre for Islamic Union Analysis and had beforehand labored for Islamic non-governmental organisations, his parliament biography exhibits.
He was married and a father of 1.
Parliament’s official broadcast confirmed Bitmez collapsing to the ground after having been standing on the podium earlier than the overall meeting on Tuesday.
He had been criticising President Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling AK Celebration (AKP) over Turkey’s ongoing commerce with Israel regardless of the conflict in Gaza, and regardless of the federal government’s sharp rhetorical criticism of Israel’s navy bombardment.
“You enable ships to go to Israel and also you shamelessly name it commerce… You’re Israel’s confederate,” Bitmez mentioned in his speech after inserting a banner on the rostrum studying: “Assassin Israel; collaborator AKP”.
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“You will have the blood of Palestinians in your arms, you might be collaborators. You contribute to each bomb Israel drops on Gaza,” he advised lawmakers throughout debate over the overseas ministry’s 2024 price range.
After ending the speech, Bitmez instantly fell backward on the ground, with different MPs speeding from their seats to assist.
Koca mentioned afterward that an angiography revealed that the 2 primary veins in his coronary heart have been fully blocked.
“His coronary heart stopped beating, then he was resuscitated in parliament and transferred inside 20 minutes to hospital” the place medical equipment saved him alive, Koca had mentioned on Tuesday.
The small Islamist Saadet Celebration joined the primary opposition bloc backing challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu in Might presidential elections in opposition to Erdogan, who prevailed.
The alliance’s settlement allowed for Saadet deputies like Bitmez to win seats in parliament by being named on the primary opposition get together CHP lists.