Hasan Bitmez dies at a hospital in Ankara two days after coronary heart assault throughout anti-Israel speech.
A Turkish opposition legislator who suffered a coronary heart assault and collapsed in parliament throughout a speech railing towards the federal government’s coverage towards Israel has died.
Well being Minister Fahrettin Koca mentioned on Thursday that Hasan Bitmez, a 54-year-old member of the Islamist Saadet Partisi, or Felicity Get together, had died in an Ankara hospital two days after the incident.
“You enable ships to go to Israel, and also you shamelessly name it commerce. … You’re Israel’s confederate,” Bitmez mentioned in his speech concentrating on President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Justice and Growth Get together (AK Get together) on Tuesday after putting a poster on the rostrum studying: “Assassin Israel; collaborator AKP.”
“Even if you happen to escape the torment of historical past, you won’t be able to flee the wrath of God,” he mentioned on the finish of the 20-minute speech earlier than collapsing on the lectern.
Different members of the Grand Nationwide Meeting rushed ahead to assist, and Koca mentioned on Tuesday that Bitmez had been “resuscitated in parliament and transferred inside 20 minutes to hospital” the place medical gear had stored him alive.
The opposition determine, who was married and a father of 1, graduated from Cairo’s Al-Azhar College, labored for Islamic nongovernmental teams and was chairman of the Centre for Islamic Union Analysis.
His speech accused the federal government of constant pleasant financial relations with Israel throughout its assault on Gaza, which has killed almost 19,000 Palestinians. His remarks drew jeers from AK Get together members.
Whereas Erdogan has labored to improve ties with Israel after a interval of frosty relations, he has additionally railed against the present warfare between Israel and the Palestinian armed group Hamas, calling Israel a “terror state” and pushing for a ceasefire.
In a small ceremony on Thursday on the grounds of the Grand Nationwide Meeting, Bitmez’s coffin was draped with a Turkish flag, and a small Palestinian flag was hooked up as effectively.