Spanish court awarded custody of the corpse of José Eduardo dos Santos to his ex-wife Ana Paula dos Santos. Tchizé dos Santos, daughter of the former Angolan president, will appeal the decision, her lawyer told Lusa on Wednesday.

"The decision by the investigating judge number 11 in Barcelona to hand over the body of former Angolan president José Eduardo dos Santos to his former wife will be subject to appeal by Tchizé dos Santos," lawyer Carmen Varela told Lusa, explaining that the argument has to do with the court's jurisdiction.

"We will file an appeal because we believe that the criminal jurisdiction is not competent to rule on this matter, that it should be the civil jurisdiction to rule on it," she argues, noting that "there is currently a case underway in the civil court on this issue."

José Eduardo dos Santos, who ruled Angola from 1979 to 2017, died last July 8 at the age of 79 in Barcelona, Spain, where he spent most of his time over the past five years. This Wednesday, the Spanish court also confirmed the death of the former Angolan president from natural causes.

"The July 9, 2022 report establishes the type of natural death, cause of death chronic cardiorespiratory failure aggravated by a respiratory infection, chronic ischemic heart disease and pulmonary fibrosis," reads the judge's decision, dated Tuesday and sent to Lusa this Wednesday.

Two factions of the dos Santos family are disputing in the Family Court of the Civil Court of Catalonia, who will take custody of José Eduardo dos Santos' body.

On one side is Tchizé dos Santos and her older siblings, who oppose handing over the remains to the former first lady and are against holding a state funeral before the August 24 elections to avoid political exploitation.

On the other, there is the widow Ana Paula dos Santos and her three children in common with José Eduardo dos Santos, who also claim the body and want this will be buried in Angola in the near future. (Lusa)