Arafat Exhumed: Was the Palestinian Leader Poisoned?
Swiss, French and Russian scientists will conduct tests on samples taken from the body of Yasser Arafat, the first Palestinian Authority president whose official cause of death eight years ago is listed as stroke, but whose personal items were found to contain traces of polonium-210.
Swiss, French and Russian scientists will conduct tests on samples taken from the body of Yasser Arafat, the first Palestinian Authority president whose official cause of death eight years ago is listed as stroke, but whose personal items were found to contain traces of polonium-210.
Exposure to polonium-210 famously killed a former Russian spy in London in 2006. (Fun fact: Polonium was first discovered by Marie and Pierre Curie and was named for Marie’s native Poland.)
Although there is speculation that Arafat may have been poisoned, the BBC reminds us that an inquiry based on his medical records conducted by The New York Times found no basis for such a claim.
BBC:
In 2005, the New York Times obtained a copy of Arafat’s medical records, which it said showed he died of a massive haemorrhagic stroke that resulted from a bleeding disorder caused by an unknown infection.
Independent experts who reviewed the records told the paper that it was highly unlikely that he had been poisoned.
Media were not allowed to view the exhumation of Arafat, although the experts sent to examine his remains were on hand. The BBC says only a Palestinian doctor was allowed to touch the body, which was not removed from the grave in Ramallah in the West Bank.
— Posted by Peter Z. Scheer.
WAIT BEFORE YOU GO...This year, the ground feels uncertain — facts are buried and those in power are working to keep them hidden. Now more than ever, independent journalism must go beneath the surface.
At Truthdig, we don’t just report what's happening — we investigate how and why. We follow the threads others leave behind and uncover the forces shaping our future.
Your tax-deductible donation fuels journalism that asks harder questions and digs where others won’t.
Don’t settle for surface-level coverage.
Unearth what matters. Help dig deeper.
Donate now.
You need to be a supporter to comment.
There are currently no responses to this article.
Be the first to respond.