ANKARA, Turkey — A Turkish opposition legislator died Thursday, days after he suffered a heart attack and collapsed in parliament just after delivering a speech critical of Israel and of the Turkish ruling party’s relationship with the country.
Hasan Bitmez, 53, a member of parliament from the Islamist Saadet Partisi, or Felicity Party, died at the Ankara City Hospital, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced.
Bitmez collapsed at the lectern of the Turkish Grand National Assembly on Tuesday after speaking for some 20 minutes.
Hasan Bitmez, 53, a Turkish lawmaker from the Islamist Saadet Partisi, or Felicity Party, speaks Tuesday at the Turkish parliament in Ankara. Bitmez died Thursday, days after he suffered a heart attack and collapsed after the speech.
Legislators in the hall assisted Bitmez before he was rushed to the hospital in “extremely serious and critical” condition.
During his speech, he was seen holding a sign that read: “Murderer Israel, Collaborator AKP,” in reference to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party.
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Bitmez accused the AKP government of continuing to engage in trade with Israel even as it became one of its most vocal critics. AKP lawmakers heckled during his speech.
The legislator concluded his remarks by reading from a poem that ended with: “Even if you escape the torment of history, you will not be able to escape the wrath of God.”
A ceremony was held for Bitmez on the grounds of the parliament building Thursday. A Palestinian flag was attached to his coffin, which was draped in the Turkish flag.
Hasan Bitmez, 53, a Turkish lawmaker from the Islamist Saadet Partisi, or Felicity Party, collapses Tuesday after speaking at the Turkish parliament in Ankara.
His funeral was scheduled to be held in Istanbul on Friday.
The Felicity Party joined an opposition alliance that failed to topple Erdogan in a May presidential election.
Today in history: Dec. 14
1799: George Washington
In 1799, the first president of the United States, George Washington, died at his Mount Vernon, Virginia, home at age 67.
1961: Greeley, Colorado
In 1961, a school bus was hit by a passenger train at a crossing near Greeley, Colorado, killing 20 students.
1981: Golan Heights
In 1981, Israel annexed the Golan Heights, which it had seized from Syria in 1967.
1985: Roger Maris
In 1985, former New York Yankees outfielder Roger Maris, who’d hit 61 home runs during the 1961 season, died in Houston at age 51.
1986: Voyager
In 1986, the experimental aircraft Voyager, piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager, took off from Edwards Air Force Base in California on the first non-stop, non-refueled flight around the world.
2012: Sandy Hook
In 2012, a gunman with a semi-automatic rifle killed 20 first-graders and six educators at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, then took his own life as police arrived; the 20-year-old had also fatally shot his mother at their home before carrying out the attack on the school.
2020: Joe Biden
In 2020, the Electoral College decisively confirmed Joe Biden as the nation’s next president, ratifying his November victory in a state-by-state repudiation of President Donald Trump’s refusal to concede he had lost; electors gave Biden 306 votes to Trump’s 232.
2020: Vaccinations
One year ago: The largest vaccination campaign in U.S. history began with health workers getting shots on the same day the nation’s COVID-19 death toll hit 300,000.
2021: Phillip Adams
In 2021, authorities in South Carolina said an autopsy found unusually severe brain disease in the frontal lobe of Phillip Adams, a former NFL player accused of fatally shooting six people in South Carolina before killing himself in April.
2021: Stephen Curry
In 2021, Stephen Curry set a new NBA career 3-point record; the Golden State Warriors’ guard hit his 2,974th 3-point shot against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
