Turkish president’s body exhumed for probe
Oct 2, 2012, 10:26 AM
ISTANBUL (AP) – Turkish media say authorities are exhuming the body of former President Turgut Ozal for a probe into his April 1993 death in office.
Anadolu Agency says the exhumation at an Istanbul mausoleum started early Tuesday morning. It follows an official report in June that concluded that Ozal’s death was suspicious.
Family members have long claimed that Ozal might have been poisoned. His pro-Western policies helped modernize Turkey and gave the U.S.-led coalition a strategic ally during the Persian Gulf War.
Doctors at the time said Ozal, who underwent triple bypass surgery in 1987, died of heart failure. Tests will now be conducted to try to confirm the cause of death.
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