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Today's Zaman, Turkey
Dec 14 2012
Prosecutor's office says probe into Ã-zal's death to continue
14 December 2012 / EMRULLAH BAYRAK, ANKARA
The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, which is investigating
the suspicious 1993 death of former President Turgut Ã-zal, has
announced that its investigation will continue, dismissing worries
that the case into the death of the former president will be dropped
soon due to the statute of limitations.
`As the Council of Forensic Medicine [ATK] stated [in its recent
autopsy report], an immediate autopsy had not been carried out on the
body of the late president [following his death] and samples of tissue
and blood had not been taken from him either. Therefore, the exact
cause of Ã-zal's death has not been determined,' the office announced
on Thursday, adding that the ongoing investigation would continue in
light of findings in the ATK report and other pieces of evidence so
that the mystery surrounding the exact cause of Ã-zal's death will be
cleared up.
According to official records, Ã-zal died of heart failure in 1993 at
the age of 65. However, the real cause of Ã-zal's death is a matter of
contention. There have long been rumors that Ã-zal did not die of
natural causes but was poisoned. His remains were exhumed in October
as part of an investigation into his death and a series of toxicology
tests were performed on his internal organs and tissues. A recent
autopsy report, drafted by the ATK, was submitted to the Ankara Chief
Public Prosecutor's Office on Wednesday.
The office shared details from the report with the press on Thursday.
According to the autopsy report, there were no clinical and laboratory
findings that suggested that Ã-zal had been poisoned or that
radioactive material was present in his body.
The level of heavy metals, including cadmium, found in the autopsy
samples are in line with the tissue levels of the normal population,
as well as with the postmortem tissue level, the prosecutor's office
said, noting that the late president did not die from exposure to
heavy metals.
However, previous media reports said Ã-zal's body had traces of
insecticides, pesticides and radioactive elements. The ATK discovered
dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), which is commonly used as an
insecticide and was banned in Turkey in 1980, and
dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE), a DDT breakdown product that
causes serious damage to the liver after being absorbed by the body,
in the former president's remains. Ã-zal's remains also contained
americium and polonium. Forensic experts said the former president's
body was weakened by these two radioactive chemical elements in the
long run, and with the use of DDT his death was accelerated. The
speculation is that the DDT might have entered Ã-zal's body through
food or drink.
The case into Ã-zal's death faces the risk of being dropped due to the
statute of limitations expiring on April 17, 2013 -- on the 20th
anniversary of the former president's death -- if the prosecutor
investigating the death does not file an indictment by then.
The autopsy report continues to draw strong reactions from various
circles which find Ã-zal's death suspicious.
Halil Å?ıvgın, who served as minister of health in the Ã-zal-led
government, said the ATK report was supposed to clear the shroud of
mist surrounding the suspicious death, but on the contrary, it has
confused people. `The death of Ã-zal should not be covered up. It
should be illuminated for the future of Turkey,' he said.
According to Ä°dris Baluken, the parliamentary group deputy chairman of
the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), suspicions are
stronger than ever that Ã-zal was poisoned to death. `We believe that
Ã-zal was killed due to his political courage to solve the country's
problems,' he noted.
There have long been rumors that Ã-zal was murdered by members of the
`deep state' -- a shadowy group within the Turkish establishment of
the day. Ã-zal, known for his reformist policies that paved the way for
a more democratic and liberal Turkey, was working to solve the
long-standing Kurdish and Armenian issues at the time he passed away.
The late president had reportedly angered his enemies in the deep
state with his efforts to end the two issues and his moves to create a
Turkic union with Central Asian states.
Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Mersin deputy Ali Ã-z said samples of
tissue taken from Ã-zal's remains may be sent to laboratories in other
countries for new toxicology testing because the ATK's autopsy report
did not satisfy people's conscience. `The ATK uses contradictory
statements in its report. The autopsy report has failed to clear up
the question marks over Ã-zal's death,' he stated.
http://www.todayszaman.com/newsDetail_getNewsById.action;jsessionid=9026CC508 26A21FE56BA068398A3B18B?newsId=301151&columnistId= 0
From: A. Papazian
Dec 14 2012
Prosecutor's office says probe into Ã-zal's death to continue
14 December 2012 / EMRULLAH BAYRAK, ANKARA
The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, which is investigating
the suspicious 1993 death of former President Turgut Ã-zal, has
announced that its investigation will continue, dismissing worries
that the case into the death of the former president will be dropped
soon due to the statute of limitations.
`As the Council of Forensic Medicine [ATK] stated [in its recent
autopsy report], an immediate autopsy had not been carried out on the
body of the late president [following his death] and samples of tissue
and blood had not been taken from him either. Therefore, the exact
cause of Ã-zal's death has not been determined,' the office announced
on Thursday, adding that the ongoing investigation would continue in
light of findings in the ATK report and other pieces of evidence so
that the mystery surrounding the exact cause of Ã-zal's death will be
cleared up.
According to official records, Ã-zal died of heart failure in 1993 at
the age of 65. However, the real cause of Ã-zal's death is a matter of
contention. There have long been rumors that Ã-zal did not die of
natural causes but was poisoned. His remains were exhumed in October
as part of an investigation into his death and a series of toxicology
tests were performed on his internal organs and tissues. A recent
autopsy report, drafted by the ATK, was submitted to the Ankara Chief
Public Prosecutor's Office on Wednesday.
The office shared details from the report with the press on Thursday.
According to the autopsy report, there were no clinical and laboratory
findings that suggested that Ã-zal had been poisoned or that
radioactive material was present in his body.
The level of heavy metals, including cadmium, found in the autopsy
samples are in line with the tissue levels of the normal population,
as well as with the postmortem tissue level, the prosecutor's office
said, noting that the late president did not die from exposure to
heavy metals.
However, previous media reports said Ã-zal's body had traces of
insecticides, pesticides and radioactive elements. The ATK discovered
dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), which is commonly used as an
insecticide and was banned in Turkey in 1980, and
dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE), a DDT breakdown product that
causes serious damage to the liver after being absorbed by the body,
in the former president's remains. Ã-zal's remains also contained
americium and polonium. Forensic experts said the former president's
body was weakened by these two radioactive chemical elements in the
long run, and with the use of DDT his death was accelerated. The
speculation is that the DDT might have entered Ã-zal's body through
food or drink.
The case into Ã-zal's death faces the risk of being dropped due to the
statute of limitations expiring on April 17, 2013 -- on the 20th
anniversary of the former president's death -- if the prosecutor
investigating the death does not file an indictment by then.
The autopsy report continues to draw strong reactions from various
circles which find Ã-zal's death suspicious.
Halil Å?ıvgın, who served as minister of health in the Ã-zal-led
government, said the ATK report was supposed to clear the shroud of
mist surrounding the suspicious death, but on the contrary, it has
confused people. `The death of Ã-zal should not be covered up. It
should be illuminated for the future of Turkey,' he said.
According to Ä°dris Baluken, the parliamentary group deputy chairman of
the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), suspicions are
stronger than ever that Ã-zal was poisoned to death. `We believe that
Ã-zal was killed due to his political courage to solve the country's
problems,' he noted.
There have long been rumors that Ã-zal was murdered by members of the
`deep state' -- a shadowy group within the Turkish establishment of
the day. Ã-zal, known for his reformist policies that paved the way for
a more democratic and liberal Turkey, was working to solve the
long-standing Kurdish and Armenian issues at the time he passed away.
The late president had reportedly angered his enemies in the deep
state with his efforts to end the two issues and his moves to create a
Turkic union with Central Asian states.
Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Mersin deputy Ali Ã-z said samples of
tissue taken from Ã-zal's remains may be sent to laboratories in other
countries for new toxicology testing because the ATK's autopsy report
did not satisfy people's conscience. `The ATK uses contradictory
statements in its report. The autopsy report has failed to clear up
the question marks over Ã-zal's death,' he stated.
http://www.todayszaman.com/newsDetail_getNewsById.action;jsessionid=9026CC508 26A21FE56BA068398A3B18B?newsId=301151&columnistId= 0
From: A. Papazian