France dismisses inquiry into Yasser Arafat death

French magistrates have decided to dismiss an inquiry into the 2004 death of former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat , whose widow claims he was poisoned.

The assistant prosecutor in Nanterre, Emmanuelle Lepissier, said the decision was made “because there was not sufficient evidence that Yasser Arafat was assassinated by polonium (poisoning) or the intervention by another person”.

In July, a French prosecutor said there was not enough reason to bring charges and asked that the case be dismissed, and in March French experts ruled out the theory that radioactive poisoning caused the Palestinian leader’s death.

After a 2012 report that traces of polonium were found on Arafat‘s clothing, Arafat‘s widow Suha filed a legal complaint in France seeking an investigation into whether he was murdered.