Felicity Party (SP) deputy Hasan Bitmez passed away after passing out in front of the Turkish parliament.
The address, which lasted 22 minutes and ended with the words “I greet you all with respect,” took a tragic turn when Bitmez collapsed, hitting his head on a marble step behind the lectern.
Fellow deputies responded quickly, scurrying to administer first aid right away. Bitmez needed a long time to have his heart massaged before being taken on a stretcher to an ambulance, which took him to a hospital in Ankara, the capital.
Later on December 14, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca tragically revealed that Bitmez had died at 11:50 p.m., despite strenuous efforts in the intensive care unit. Following the announcement, Deputy Parliament Speaker Sırrı Süreyya Önder adjourned the current session.
The event happened after the 54-year-old politician got into a heated argument with certain members over the government’s position on the Israel-Hamas war.
Bitmez had angioplasty after two of his main arteries were discovered to be totally clogged, as Koca has previously disclosed. Bitmez was put on a heart-lung pump and forced to breathe with the help of an artificial lung and heart device despite several interventions and efforts.
According to local media, the deputy from the northwest province of Kocaeli has two cardiac stents and diabetes.
On December 15, after Friday prayers at a mosque in Istanbul, Hasan Bitmez is to be buried in Merkezefendi cemetery and have funeral prayers.
“I wish God’s mercy to Hasan Bitmez and condolences to his family, the Felicity Party community, our parliament and our nation,” said Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş in expressing condolences for X.
Temel Karamollaoğlu, the leader of the SP, also expressed gratitude by saying, “Our deputy chair and Kocaeli MP Hasan Bitmez, whose sincerity, diligence and sacrifice we have always witnessed, has gone to God.”