An opposition Turkish lawmaker died on Thursday, two days after suffering a heart attack and collapsing in front of parliament as he finished a speech criticising the government’s policy toward Israel.
Hasan Bitmez, 54, a member of parliament from the opposition Felicity (Saadet) Party, died in Ankara City Hospital.
A graduate of Cairo’s Al Azhar University, Bitmez was the chairman of the Centre for Islamic Union Research and had previously worked for Islamic non-governmental organisations.
He was married father of one.
Parliament’s official broadcast showed Bitmez collapsing to the floor after having been standing at the podium before the general assembly on Tuesday.
He had been criticising President Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling AK Party (AKP) over Turkey’s ongoing trade with Israel despite the war in Gaza, and despite the government’s sharp rhetorical criticism of Israel’s military bombardment.
After finishing the speech, Bitmez suddenly fell backward on the floor, with other MPs rushing from their seats to help.
An angiography revealed that the two main veins in his heart were completely blocked.
The small Islamist Saadet Party joined the main opposition bloc backing challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu in May presidential elections against Erdogan, who prevailed.
The alliance’s agreement allowed for Saadet deputies like Bitmez to win seats in parliament by being named on the main opposition party lists.
Editor: Oloyede Oworu
