Arafat’s widow asks for French probe into death with complaint of ‘assassination’

PARIS – The widow of Yasser Arafat is formally asking for a French investigation into his death. Suha Arafat is bringing a complaint of assassination, though the filing does not name any individuals or governments.

Tuesday’s filing comes weeks after Palestinian authorities gave final approval for the former Palestinian leader’s body to be exhumed; Suha Arafat recently raised new suspicions that he had been poisoned before his 2004 death in a French military hospital.

In recent tests of Arafat’s belongings, a Swiss lab detected elevated traces of polonium-210 — a rare and highly lethal substance — but said the findings were inconclusive and that Arafat’s bones would have to be tested.

A French judge will still have to decide whether to accept Suha Arafat’s complaint and open an investigation.

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