An opposition Turkish lawmaker has died two days after suffering a heart attack and collapsing in front of parliament while delivering a speech criticising the government’s approach to Israel.
Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced that Hasan Bitmez, 54, a member of parliament from the opposition Felicity (Saadet) Party, passed away in Ankara City Hospital
According to his parliament biography, Bitmez, who attended Al Azhar University in Cairo, was the chairman of the Centre for Islamic Union Research and had previously held positions with Islamic non-governmental organizations.
He was married and a father of one.
After finishing the speech, Bitmez suddenly fell backward on the floor, with other MPs rushing from their seats to help.
Koca said afterward that an angiography revealed that the two main veins in his heart were completely blocked.
“His heart stopped beating, then he was resuscitated in parliament and transferred within 20 minutes to hospital” where medical machinery kept him alive, Koca had said on Tuesday.
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 CHP lists.
