ISTANBUL, Jan 8 (AFP) - A nephew of Turkey's former president Suleyman Demirel took a drug overdose and injected himself with insulin during a court appearance on charges of embezzling 1.2 billion dollars, reports said here Saturday.
Anatoliya news agency said businessman Yahya Murat Demirel was still hospitalised Saturday after being rushed to hospital and having his stomach-pumped.
Demirel swallowed 15 anti-depressant Xanax tablets and injected insulin -- which belonged to his diabetic wife - during a court appearance here Friday on charges of embezzling 1.2 billion dollars (900,000 euros) while director of a Turkish bank.
Reports said he and his wife had earlier used false papers to flee Turkey in a fishing boat to the Bulgarian Black sea port of Burgas, where they were arrested on December 31.
They were extradited to Turkey on Friday.
Demirel, formerly a director of Egebank, had been forbidden by the Turkish courts to leave the country.
The accused's uncle Suleyman Demirel was Turkish president between 1993 and 2000.
01/08/2005 13:05 GMT - AFP