Suha Arafat waits while the coffin of her husband, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat is loaded aboard.
Suha Arafat waits while the coffin of her husband, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat is loaded aboard a plane at the Villacoublay air base near Paris, November 11, 2004. REUTERS

A warrant has been issued by Tunisia summoning the widow of deceased Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) leader Yasser Arafat over a corruption scandal, the state news agency reported Monday.

The warrant was issued last week over Suha Arafat's role in a scandal involving former Tunisian dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, his family and other high government officials, said Kadhem Zine El Abidine, spokesman for the Justice Ministry.

An online journal, Attounissia said Suha Arafat was being investigated over The International School of Carthage, which she founded in 2006 with Ben Ali's wife, Leila Trabelsi.

Tunisia issued an arrest warrant against Mrs. Arafat on suspicion of involvement in cases of financial corruption with the family of Ben Ali's wife, said Ahokri Nafti, a spokesman for the Justice Ministry.

Relations between the two deteriorated and Suha Araft was declared persona non grata in Tunisia, her citizenship was revoked, reportedly by presidential decree, and she left for Malta, where her brother Gaby al-Tawil was the Palestinian ambassador.

The warrant is not for her arrest, but a summoning for questioning, either as a suspect or witness to the case.

Suha Arafat lived in Tunisia after Yasser Arafat's death in France in 2004. She has French citizenship.

The courts have also convicted Ben Ali and his wife, in absentia, of theft, possession of drugs and weapons, and corruption. Ben Ali's lawyer denies the charges.

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