Spanish justice has closed the investigation into the death of Angola's former president José Eduardo dos Santos, confirming it was due to natural causes, according to a Barcelona court ruling released yesterday.

The decision by a court in Barcelona, in the Spanish region of Catalonia, closed the case by concluding that José Eduardo dos Santos died in that city of "exclusively natural causes" on July 8th, as the initial autopsy conclusions had already determined.

The judicial investigation was opened following a complaint by some of the former president's children, who claimed that their father may have died from negligence in the care provided to him by his personal physician and his last wife, Ana Paula dos Santos.

In today's decision, cited by EFE, Europa Press and AFP news agencies, the judge states that "the lack of evidence of such a crime, given the definitive autopsy report and the health documents included in the case file, leads to the provisional closure and closure of the case.

"There are no elements to consider that he was not cared for at some point," adds the Barcelona court ruling quoted by Lusa.

The lawyers for 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 "revelation of secrets.

Last August 17th, the Spanish justice concluded that José Eduardo dos Santos died of natural causes and ordered the delivery of the corpse to his widow.

The children of José Eduardo dos Santos appealed 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 José Eduardo dos Santos' personal physician, João Afonso, did not adopt "all the necessary and opportune measures to guarantee 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 Angolan government, with the aim of "hastening the transfer of the body," so that it would happen before the Angolan presidential elections last August 24, the sons argued.

In this context, the lawyers have again requested that the court hear Ana Paula dos Santos and João Afonso as "persons under investigation".

In response, the Spanish court dismissed the case, according to the decision known yesterday.

About the disclosure of "very sensitive information" about the health of José Eduardo dos Santos to journalists, the court states that the condition of the former President of Angola was publicly known and that the sources of the news invoked by the plaintiffs are unknown.

The Spanish justice delivered to Ana Paula dos Santos, on August 20th, the body of José Eduardo dos Santos, which was also claimed by the sons of the former President of Angola.

The body was taken to Angola and the funeral took place on August 28.

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.

In 2017, he resigned to run again and the current President, João Lourenço, succeeded him in office, having also been elected by the MPLA, the party in government since the country became independent from Portugal in 1975.