French courts launch murder inquiry into Yasser Arafat's death

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Tests found the urine had traces of Polonium-210, the highly radioactive substance that killed Russian dissident Alexander Litvinenko in 2006.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | Int'l Desk
Source/Credit: Daily Mail | UK
By Daily Mail Reporter | 28 August 2012

Probe will examine claims Palestinian leader was poisoned

French prosecutors have launched a murder inquiry into the 2004 death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

Arafat died in a French military hospital in 2004 from what doctors said at the time was a stroke.

But new evidence and pressure from his widow and a TV investigation have prompted authorities to examine the possibility he was actually poisoned.

There have long been rumours in the Arab world that Arafat was poisoned, and a Swiss lab's recent finding of elevated levels of a rare and highly lethal radioactive substance on Arafat's clothing has fed those claims.

However, the Institute of Radiation Physics said its findings were inconclusive and that only exhuming Arafat's remains could bring possible clarity.

Palestinian officials have waffled on the matter - initially approving the exhumation and then saying the matter needed more study - only further fueling suspicions.

Still, since Arafat's death, several senior Palestinian officials have alleged that Israel poisoned the Palestinian leader, a charge Israel vehemently denied.

Rumours suggesting Arafat was poisoned by Israeli intelligence agents have swirled around the middle east for years - fuelled by a recent investigation into a urine stain found on his underwear.

Tests found the urine had traces of Polonium-210, the highly radioactive substance that killed Russian dissident Alexander Litvinenko in 2006.

Other theories have speculated that Arafat actually died after contracting cancer, cirrhosis, or even HIV.

Scientists caution that polonium decays quickly and that an autopsy needs to be done right away.

The findings were first broadcast by Arab satellite TV station Al-Jazeera, which approached the lab on behalf of Arafat's widow, Suha.

She provided the lab with his clothing and other belongings.

When the results were released, Suha Arafat filed a complaint in French court asking for a murder investigation.

The two judicial officials - who would only speak on condition of anonymity because of office rules - said a judge will be appointed to run the investigation shortly.

The complaint is open and does not name a responsible party, as is a common practice in French courts.



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