Four sons of the former President of Angola, José Eduardo dos Santos, appealed to the Spanish court for clarification of the circumstances of the transfer of the father’s body to the widow and the transfer of the corpse to Angola without their knowledge.
Lawyers representing Chise dos Santos and his three brothers made this request, which Lusa had access to, stressing that despite being one of the parties that legally contested the right to keep the remains of José Eduardo dos Santos who died on July 8 in Barcelona are officially unaware of the “location” of their father’s body.
Therefore, they ask the court to clarify “when, how and to whom the remains of José Eduardo dos Santos were delivered.”
The older children say they learned from the media that the body was allegedly handed over to the father’s widow and transported to Luanda last Saturday.
This is despite ongoing moves in the Spanish justice system, the latest of which is asking older children to hold a ceremony in Barcelona before a possible handover, claiming they cannot attend a funeral in Luanda because their lives were in danger in Angola. .
The lawyers for Chise dos Santos guarantee that the court asked the widow to comment on this possibility and concluded that Ana Paula dos Santos delivered the body to Luanda without responding to this request and without even notifying the court itself.
Spanish justice last Wednesday concluded that José Eduardo dos Santos had died of natural causes and ordered that the body be delivered to the widow.
The older children filed an appeal against the decision, which was dismissed, and then, on Friday, an “appeal”, which, however, had no suspensive effect on the court’s decision.
A document delivered today claims that the decision of the Spanish justice system was to deliver the body of Ana Paula dos Santos for a “burial”, which did happen, and the coffin with the remains was put on display a few days ago in Luanda. in a “mediatized” way, in the “favor of the ruling party”, the MPLA, given that elections will be held in Angola this Wednesday.
The funeral is scheduled for August 28 only, and the children believe that this confirms the purpose of the political use of the father’s body and that, on the other hand, it would be time for the ceremony in Barcelona.
In the second paragraph of a request sent to the court today, Chise dos Santos’s lawyers recall that in July they filed a criminal complaint in connection with the circumstances of the death of José Eduardo dos Santos, which included possible crimes of “dereliction of duty.” help” and “exposure of secrets”.
“While the forensic autopsy concluded that the death of the former President of Angola was due to natural causes,” there are “indications,” the lawyers repeat, reinforcing their earlier arguments that Ana Paula dos Santos and doctor José Eduardo Dos Santos’s staff, Joao Afonso, did not took “all necessary and timely measures to ensure his full health” and also disclosed “very sensitive information” about his condition to the Angolan and Portuguese media.
“All this in cooperation” with the Angolan government to “speed up the transfer of the body” before the elections, the children claim.
In this context, the lawyers once again ask that Ana Paulo dos Santos and João Afonso be heard as “persons under investigation” before the Court of Investigation to which they submitted these complaints.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
