WordBulletin

World Bulletin / News Desk 

A son of former President Turgut Özal objected on Wednesday to the opening of his father's grave, as ordered by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office as part of an investigation launched earlier this year into the exact cause of death of the former president.

Although his private doctor determined that the former president had died of a heart attack in 1993, his wife, children and close friends later speculated that he may have been poisoned. The prosecutor's office on Monday decided that Özal's body should be exhumed for a detailed analysis.

Özal's son Efe Özal filed a petition with the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office in which he states that he wants his father to be left in peace in his grave. “We, according to our customs and traditions, completely object to the decision to open my father's grave,” the petition reads.

The body of former President Özal is expected to be exhumed within the next 10 days. On Wednesday night security was tightened around the grave, which is located in İstanbul.

In March, President Abdullah Gül ordered the State Audit Institution (DDK) to launch an investigation into the cause of Özal's death. The DDK submitted a report to Gül stating that Özal may not have been the victim of a heart attack and calling on prosecutors to investigate the case.