Ashraf Marwan

Ashraf Marwan ( _ar. أشرف مروان) (b. 1944cite web
last = Kaufman
first = Uri
title = Spy or Double Agent? Israel's October Surprise
work =
publisher = The Jewish Press
date = October 2, 2007
url = http://www.jewishpress.com/displayContent_new.cfm?contentid=25308&mode=a&contentname=Spy_or_Double_Agent%3F__%3Ci%3EIsrael%27s_October_Surprise%3C%2Fi%3E&recnum=1&fromsect=1
accessdate = 2008-07-24 ] -June 27, 2007) was an Egyptian billionaire and an alleged spy for Israel, or possibly an Egyptian double agent. He was married to Mona Gamal Abdel Nasser, the daughter of former Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser.

Biographical information

Marwan was born in 1944 and earned a Ph.D. in economics in Britain. He married Nasser's daughter in the 1960s. He ended his relationship with Israel in the 1970s but, surprisingly, did not seem to suffer any political consequences.

He was later made chief of staff to Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and, a leading Arab industrialist, became a business partner of Mohamed al-Fayed, the owner of Harrod's department store and whose son Dodi Fayed died in a car crash with Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1997.

His son is married to Hania Moussa, daughter of Amr Moussa, the former Egyptian foreign minister and current secretary general of the Arab League.

pying

In September 2002, the London-based Israeli historian Ahron Bregman published a book that included allegations that Marwan was Israeli's "master spy" in Cairo. In a subsequent interview with Egyptian newspaper "Al-Ahram", Bregman again named Marwan as Israel's disputed source.

Despite these allegations being made public, Marwan seemed to avoid any retaliation from Egypt. On October 6, 2004, two year after being named as a spy, Israeli intelligence officers observed Marwan being greeted warmly by Current Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak; the only possible explanation, asserts Bregman, was that Marwan had been a double agent.

Marwan relationship with Israeli intelligence was also revealed in 2003 book by author Howard Blum, who learned of Marwan's activities from the head of Israeli Military Intelligence during the Yom Kippur War, General Eli Zeira. According to Blum, Marwan first contacted Israel in 1969, when he handed Egyptian state documents to a London doctor whose office had previously been used for a covert meeting between Israel and Jordan. Marwan was approached by the Mossad while shopping in Harrods three days later, and thereby began spying for Israel. Marwan would meet Mossad officers in a London safe-house, where he would be paid £50,000 each visit. He would often meet directly with the Zvi Zamir, the head of the Mossad, and Marwan's conversations were taped and transcribed for the Israeli Prime Minister.cite web | url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/07/13/opinion/edblum.php | title="Who Killed Ashraf Marwan?" | publisher=International Herald Tribune | accessdate=2007-07-15]

In April 1973 Marwan warned the Mossad that Egypt and Syria would launch a surprise attack against Israel on May 15; that proved a false warning, and Israel lost $35 million while under the heightened state of alert. Marwan again met with Zamir on the eve of the Yom Kippur War, warning that Egypt and Syria were once again preparing to attack at sunset. This warning was not heeded by the Israeli cabinet, although it did turn out to be correct. Despite this history, it remains unclear whether Marwan was an Israeli spy or an Egpytian double agent.

Death

Marwan died on 27 June 2007 at around 13:00 UTC+1 (British Summer Time) outside his flat in Carlton House Terrace, London. Cause of death was traumatic aortic rupture following a fall from the window of his fifth-floor apartment. News reports indicate that the Metropolitan Police Service increasingly believe Marwan was murdered, a belief also held by Marwan's eldest son, Gamal. [cite web | url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/893521.html | title="U.K. police believe ex-Mossad agent murdered" | publisher=Haaretz | accessdate=2007-07-15] [cite web | url=http://www.spectator.co.uk/the-magazine/features/91526/the-curious-case-of-the-spy-who-fell-to-his-death.thtml | title="Did he fall or was he pushed?" | publisher=Spectator | accessdate=2007-08-18] Marwan's funeral in Egypt was led by Egypt's highest-ranked religious leader, Muhammad Sayyid Tantawy, and attended by, amongst others, Gamal Mubarak, son of President Hosni Mubarak, and intelligence chief Omar Suleiman. According to President Mubarak, "Marwan carried out patriotic acts which it is not yet time to reveal." Following a case review in January 2008, the investigation was transferred to the Specialist Crime Directorate, both because of its public nature and because the shoes Marwan was wearing when he fell, key evidence in the case, had been lost. [cite news |first=Rajeev |last=Syal |title=Yard probes billionaire spy's death |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/oct/05/ukcrime.egypt |publisher=The Observer |date=2008-10-05 |accessdate=2008-10-05]

One witness, who was on the third floor of a nearby building, told police that he saw two men "wearing suits and of Mediterranean appearance" appear on the balcony moments after Marwan's fall, look down, and then return inside the apartment. Police are also reported to have lost Marwan's shoes, which could hold clues on whether or not Marwan himself jumped from the balcony. [cite web | url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article2344280.ece | title="Evidence missing in ‘spy’ death-fall mystery" | publisher=The Times | accessdate=2007-08-29]

Marwan is the fourth Egyptian of note to die in London in a similar way. The others, all of whom were involved in Egyptian politics between 1966 and 1971, are: Suad Hosni, the actress; Al-Leithy Nassif, the Egyptian ambassador to Britain; and Ali Shafeek, secretary in the office of former Egyptian Vice President Abdel Hakim Amer.

Amr Ellissy, an Egyptian journalist, conducted an investigation into Marwan's death for his documentary series "Ekhterak". It was broadcast on Egyptian television in six episodes on the first anniversary of Marwan's death. The documentary was conducted in Marwan's London apartment and included interviews with his son, a witness and acquantainces of the late Egyptian billionaire. Ellissy intends to publish his findings in a book in 2009.

References