Sudan's daughter to appeal decision to give father's ex-wife grave

The former Angolan president Jose Eduardo dos Santos acknowledged the crowd during the closing campaign rally in Luanda in this file photo taken on August 19, 2017. MARCO LONGARI AFP LUANDA - Tchize dos Santos, daughter of former Angolan president Jose Eduardo dos Santos, will appeal the Spanish court's decision to deliver the corpse of his father to his ex-wife Ana Paula dos Santos, her lawyer Carmen Varela said Wednesday.

The decision of the instruction judge number 11 of Barcelona to deliver the body of former Angolan president Jose Eduardo dos Santos to his former wife will be subject to an appeal by Tchize dos Santos, Varela said.

The lawyer said that a process is currently underway in the civil court on this issue and that we will file an appeal because we understand that the criminal jurisdiction is not competent to rule on this matter.

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Jose Eduardo dos Santos, who ruled Angola from 1979 to 2017 and died on July 8, at the age of 79, in Barcelona, Spain, where he spent most of his time over the past five years.

Two factions of the family dos Santos dispute the custody of Jose Eduardo dos Santos'Santos' body in the Family Court of Catalonia.

On the other side are Tchize dos Santos and her elder siblings, who oppose the delivery of the remains to the former first lady, and are against holding a state funeral before the Aug 24 elections in Angola to avoid political exploitation.

There is the widow Ana Paula dos Santos and her three children with the former president, who also claim the body and want it to be buried in Angola in the near future.

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