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Murder of Turkish doctor spurs rage against Turkey’s beleaguered health sector 

The brutal shooting of a cardiologist in a conservative central Anatolian city has pitted the health sector not only against the government but also the General Directorate of Religious Affairs. 

Health care workers protest, calling on the government to improve working conditions in Ankara, on May 29, 2022.
Health care workers protest, calling on the government to improve working conditions in Ankara, on May 29, 2022. — ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images

The crisis over the murder of a cardiologist in the conservative Turkish city of Konya continues to brew in Turkey, pitting the country’s beleaguered health sector not only against the government but also against the clergy. 

Dr. Ekrem Karakaya, 47, was shot dead on July 6 by the son of a patient who held the doctor responsible for the death of his mother who underwent a heart operation a month ago. Hacı Mehmet Akcay also killed himself after firing at the doctor.

 

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