A new funeral ceremony was held Friday, Oct 5 for the late Turkish president Turgut Özal, whose remains were exhumed Tuesday on the orders of prosecutors investigating suspected foul play in his death 19 years ago, Today’s Zaman reported.

Turgut Özal's family requested a plain funeral ceremony be held for the late president. In line with religious customs, the family buried Özal with a simple gravesite rather than the original marble monument from his first interment. European Union (EU) Affairs Minister Egemen Bağış and Istanbul Governor Hüseyin Avni Mutlu were in attendance at the ceremony along with the late president's wife, Semra Özal, his daughter, Zeynep Özal, and his son, Ahmet Özal.

The case investigating the cause of Özal's death was opened earlier this year, after a number of witnesses spoke of unusual circumstances on the day of the death of the president, who was reported to have suffered a heart attack. The prosecutor's office recently issued a warrant to exhume the president's remains for toxicology testing.