ISTANBUL (Reuters) — The full report of an autopsy on the body of Turgut Ozal, who led Turkey out of military rule in the 1980s, should be released for public scrutiny, his son said on Wednesday.
Mr. Ozal’s body was exhumed in October after years of rumors that he had been killed by militants of the “deep state” — a shadowy group within the Turkish establishment. He had angered some with efforts to end a Kurdish insurgency and survived an assassination attempt in 1988. He was prime minister from 1983 to 1989, then the Parliament elected him president.
The body of Mr. Ozal, who died of what officials said was heart failure in 1993 at the age of 65 while in office, was exhumed on the orders of prosecutors investigating suspicions of foul play.
A summary of the forensic report, released this month, said the exact cause of death could not be determined because no autopsy was conducted immediately after Mr. Ozal died. He was overweight and had kept up a grueling schedule even after undergoing a triple heart bypass operation in the United States in 1987.
Ahmet Ozal, one of the former president’s sons — who, like other members of his family, believes that his father was poisoned — wants the full scientific autopsy report published.
The findings “should not be disclosed only to the Council of Forensic Medicine, but also to universities so specialists and professors can also evaluate the results,” Ahmet Ozal, a former lawmaker, told reporters.
He said he would also file legal cases against people involved in taking his father to a hospital on the day of his death once a full report by the state inspection committee was released.
This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:
Correction: December 26, 2012
An earlier version of this article misstated Turgut Ozal’s leadership role in Turkey when he led the country out of military rule in the 1980s. He was prime minister, not president.
Public Release of Ozal Autopsy Urged in Turkey
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Public Release of Ozal Autopsy Urged in Turkey
