"We confirm [the court decision] and we are not going to appeal the filing," one of the lawyers for José Eduardo dos Santos' eldest sons told Lusa in a written response.
Spanish justice closed the investigation into the death of the former president of Angola, confirming that it was due to natural causes, according to a decision by a Barcelona court released on Tuesday.
The decision of a court in Barcelona, in the Spanish region of Catalonia, closed the case, concluding that José Eduardo dos Santos died in that city of "exclusively natural causes" on July 8, as the initial conclusions of the autopsy had already determined.
The judicial investigation was opened following a complaint by some children of the former president of Angola, who invoked the possibility that their father had died due to negligence in the care provided to him by the personal doctor and the last wife, Ana Paula dos Santos.
In the decision made known on Tuesday, cited by the EFE, Europa Press and AFP news agencies, the judge states that "the lack of evidence of said crime, given the definitive autopsy report and the health documents included in the case file, lead to the provisional closure and the shelving of the case".
"There are no elements that allow us to consider that he was not provided with care at any time", adds the decision of the Barcelona court.
The lawyers of the eldest sons of the former president of Angola, headed by 'Tchizé' dos Santos, filed a criminal complaint in July that included possible offenses of "omission of the duty to help" and "revealing secrets".
Last August 17, the Spanish justice concluded that José Eduardo dos Santos died of natural causes and ordered the delivery of the body to the widow.
The sons of José Eduardo dos Santos appealed against these decisions, considering that "although the judicial autopsy concluded that the death of the former president of Angola was due to natural causes", there were "indications" that Ana Paula dos Santos and the José Eduardo dos Santos' personal doctor, João Afonso, did not adopt "all the necessary and timely measures to ensure his full health" and that they also revealed "very sensitive information" about his condition to the Angolan and Portuguese media.
"All this, in collaboration" with the Government of Angola, with the aim of "hastening the transfer of the body", in order to take place before the presidential elections on 24 August, argued the children.
In response, the Spanish justice closed the case, according to the decision made known on Tuesday.
Regarding the disclosure of "very sensitive information" about the health of José Eduardo dos Santos to journalists, the court states that the state of the former President of Angola was publicly known and that the sources of the news invoked by the complainants are not known.
The Spanish justice handed over to Ana Paula dos Santos, on 20 August, the body of José Eduardo dos Santos, who was also claimed by the former President's sons.
The body was taken to Angola and the funeral took place on 28 August.
José Eduardo dos Santos succeeded Agostinho Neto as President of Angola in 1979 and left office in 2017, serving one of the longest presidencies in the world, punctuated by accusations of corruption and nepotism.
