Turkish MP Hasan Bitmez suffers heart attack whilst discussing Israel
A Turkish lawmaker has died of a heart attack after he collapsed in front of the parliament after making a controversial speech that criticised the government’s stance towards Israel.
Hasan Bitmez, 53, crumbled to the floor after a defiant speech at the General Assembly Hall in Ankara, The Turkish capital, on Tuesday. Concluding his address, he said: “We can perhaps hide from our conscience, but not from history,” and added, “Israel will suffer the wrath of Allah”, The Yeshiva World reports.
Shortly thereafter, he found himself on the ground, requiring chest compressions. Health Minister Fahrettin Koca told reporters in televised remarks that he died in Ankara City Hospital.
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Bitmez served as the deputy head of the Felicity (Saadet) Party, an Islamist political party in Turkey. While delivering criticism of the Israeli government’s reaction to the Gaza events following the attacks on October 7, he collapsed.
Turhan Çömez, another legislator and a qualified doctor, was the first to come to his assistance.
It has also been reported that Bitmez struck his head during the fall. Mr Koca said on Tuesday that an angiography revealed that the two main veins in his heart were completely blocked.
He said: “His heart stopped beating, then he was resuscitated in parliament and transferred within 20 minutes to hospital where medical machinery kept him alive.” However, Koca revealed that Bitmez died today – two days after he suffered the heart attack.
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