Exhumation begins at late President Özal’s grave

ISTANBUL

AA Photo

Officials began to open the grave of late President Turgut Özal in Istanbul today, following a prosecutor's decision which ruled that his body should be exhumed, daily Hürriyet reported.  

The operation started early in the morning when Deputy Public Prosecutor Oktay Erdoğan and forensic officers arrived at the mausoleum.

Security teams and a bomb squad were also present at the scene.  

Turgut Özal, Turkey’s eighth president, died of a heart attack on April 17, 1993 in his office in Ankara.   

Turkey’s State Audit Board (DDK) ruled Özal’s death “suspicious” and said it should be investigated, in a report released June 13.