Arafat’s widow has diplomatic immunity

Yasser Arafat’s widow feels safe in Malta where she enjoys diplomatic immunity.

This means that, if an international arrest warrant were to be issued against her by Interpol, as was reported by the international media on Monday, she will be protected.

“I have diplomatic immunity and I remain safe in all cases,” Suha Arafat, who has been living on the island for the past four years, said, adding that she was granted this status as the widow of the former Palestinian leader and as a member of the Palestinian Embassy in Malta.

So far, reports of the inter­national arrest warrant remain unconfirmed and Mrs Arafat’s name does not appear on the Interpol website. She said she had not yet been informed of such a warrant either.

Neither has the Foreign Affairs Ministry been informed about the warrant. A spokesman for the police said they “did not receive any request for extradition” by last night.

Mrs Arafat reiterated that reports that the international arrest warrant had been issued against her was all part of an attempt at character assassination “because the surname Arafat sells”.

“This is character assassination... it’s not by chance that (it comes at a time when) we are going to the United Nations to have our seat in Unesco,” she said, referring to Monday’s vote when 107 countries, including Malta, voted in favour of the admission of Palestine to Unesco.

International media reported that Mrs Arafat was wanted by the Tunisian authorities over alleged corruption dating back to 2006, when she had founded the Carthage International School in Tunis with the country’s former first lady, Leila Trabelsi.

Mrs Arafat insisted she had all the documents in hand to prove her innocence adding she was getting support from all over the world.

“I have the Madonna of Malta, she’s with me. I always pray to her and I know she knows that I’m innocent and she will not let me down,” Mrs Arafat said.

She admitted she loved living in Malta where she felt safe.

“I love the democracy between the two parties and I love the people... I am grateful for Malta for voting for us to join Unesco,” she said.

Mrs Arafat, who married President Arafat in 1990, has lived in Malta since being stripped of her Tunisian citizenship under the regime of Zine el Abidine Ben Ali in 2007.