Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdağ has said he doesn't believe late President Turgut Özal died a natural death, adding that a recent report by the Forensic Medicine Council (ATK) failed to remove suspicions surrounding the 1993 death of the former president, Today's Zaman reported.
Speaking to reporters on Saturday in the northwestern province of Bolu, Bozdağ said the ATK report raised more suspicions concerning Özal's death.
According to official records, Özal died of heart failure in 1993 at the age of 65. However, the real cause of Özal's death is a matter of contention. There have long been rumors that Özal did not die of natural causes but was poisoned. His remains were exhumed in October as part of an investigation into his death and a series of toxicology tests were performed on his internal organs and tissues. A recent autopsy report, drafted by the ATK, was submitted on Wednesday to the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, which is investigating Özal's suspicious death.
The office shared details from the report with the press on Thursday. According to the autopsy report, there were no clinical and laboratory findings that suggested that Özal had been poisoned or that radioactive material was present in his body.
The prosecutor's office also announced that its investigation will continue, dismissing worries that the case into the death of the former president will be dropped soon due to the statute of limitations.