Head of forensics denies reports of poison in former president's body

ISTANBUL

Hürriyet photo

An autopsy report on late President Turgut Özal has yet to be finished, the head of the Forensic Medicine Institute said today, dismissing claims that evidence had been found indicating that the ex-head of state had been poisoned.
 
The statement followed earlier reports by daily Bugün that claimed a poisonous substance had been found in samples taken from the body, leading to suspicions the leader may have been poisoned. The claim was reportedly based on an autopsy report conducted on Özal's body.
 
But Forensic Medicine Institute head Haluk İnce said the institute had yet to finalize the report.
 
"The report is not even finished yet. Our work continues. We have several results that are out, but we are in the process of confirming thousands of results through repeated procedures. We haven't sent anyone any reports yet," İnce said.
 
"We do not know how that story was formed," İnce said. "We did not find the substance claimed to have been found.  We are not the source of the story."
 
Earlier reports by Bugün claimed to have obtained an autopsy report conducted on Özal that confirmed the presence of the poisonous chemical strychnine keratin in his body. 
 
As part of the Ankara Prosecution office's investigation, Özal’s body was exhumed from his grave earlier this year in order for samples to be collected for the investigation.
 
Özal, Turkey's eighth president, died on April 17, 1993.
 
"The public should not pay attention to such stories," İnce said.