Anwar Sadat and his assassin Lieutenant Islambouli. Yom Kippur War and agreements with the United States

Waterproofing 26.12.2023

Waterproofing

On October 6, 1981, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat was assassinated. A huge number of versions have been expressed about what happened, but none of them has yet been confirmed. It is only clear that the reasons for the assassination attempt must be sought in the personality of Sadat himself and the policies he pursued.

Many people know practically nothing about Mohammed Anwar al-Sadat, except that he was the president of Egypt. Meanwhile, it was Lieutenant Sadat who, in the late 1930s, was one of the founders of the “Young Officers” movement, which brought the first president of Egypt, Gamal Abdel Nasser, to power. Nasser and Sadat first met in 1939 in the garrison of the city of Mankabad, then studied together at an intelligence school, but after Nasser was sent to serve in Sudan, their paths diverged for a long time.

During World War II, Sadat, like many Egyptian officers, wished Hitler victory and looked forward to the troops of Field Marshal Rommel defeating the British in North Africa and liberating Egypt from British rule. In the summer of 1942, when Rommel's Afrika Korps were 70 kilometers from Alexandria, Sadat tried to persuade his friends in the Young Officers movement to start an uprising behind British lines, and then came into contact with German agents in Cairo. However, he was soon arrested, demoted to the ranks and thrown into prison, from where he escaped in 1944. With the help of friends, he hid until 1945, when the British lifted martial law and declared an amnesty.

After the war, Sadat, along with other irreconcilable opponents of the British, launched several terrorist attacks against representatives of the British administration in Egypt and their supporters. So, in 1945, they tried to kill the former Prime Minister of Egypt by throwing a grenade at his car. And on January 6, 1946, former Finance Minister Amin Osman was shot dead in the afternoon in the center of Cairo, who had shortly before declared that Egypt’s friendship with England was indestructible.

Soon after this, Sadat was arrested again. This time he was threatened with execution or lifelong hard labor, but Osman’s direct killer managed to escape from prison, and in August 1948 Sada was acquitted due to lack of evidence. Once free, Sadat returned to the army, very quickly made up for lost time and was even promoted to lieutenant colonel. But during the time he was in prison, Nasser became the recognized leader of the Young Officers movement, and Sadat had to be content with second roles. During the revolution that took place on the night of July 2, 1952, Sadat was on a telephone switchboard, communicating with his supporters throughout Egypt. As a result, by the morning all power in the country passed to the conspirators. On July 26, King Farouk signed his abdication and left Egypt forever.

The revolution did not bring Sadat what he expected. In 1953, after the proclamation of the republic, he was appointed only deputy chairman of the National Assembly of Egypt. However, Sadat was not eager for the leading roles, but expressed full support for Nasser. This was especially evident after Egypt's defeat in the war with Israel in 1967, when Sadat was among those who persistently demanded that Nasser withdraw his resignation and remain as president. True, later in his memoirs Sadat would write that the defeat in the Six-Day War was the most severe trauma in his life (“I did not know what to do. I was stunned and unable to navigate in time and space”) and that it became political the death of Nasser (“He died not on September 28, 1970, but on July 5, 1967, exactly an hour after the start of the war”). However, all these revelations will come later.

Having passed the test of loyalty to Nasser, Sadat began a rapid ascent to the very top, until finally, in December 1969, Nasser appointed him vice president and, in fact, his heir. While persistently proving to Nasser that he was his loyal supporter, Sadat also persistently demonstrated his commitment to the pro-Soviet course, although in his heart he had an extremely negative attitude towards the socialist experiments of the first president of Egypt.

The Soviet leadership had its own reasons for being wary of Sadat. Most of all, his wife was worried - Jihan Sadat. Half-English from Cyprus, she instilled in the poor native of the Nile Valley a craving for luxury, turned him against the USSR and advocated contacts with the West. But the most important thing is that she was the “outstanding political tactician” that Sadat was considered in the Egyptian leadership, since only after consulting with her did he make any important decision.

On September 28, 1970, Nasser died and Sadat became president of Egypt. In the West he was considered a temporary figure. The day after he became the head of the country, an American journalist asked US President Henry Kissinger, National Security Adviser, who Sadat was. Kissinger replied that Sadat would only last a few weeks. Moscow also wanted to see not Sadat as president, but the pro-Soviet general secretary of the Arab Socialist Union, Ali Sarbi. But neither Moscow nor Washington had enough influence in Egypt to dictate their will to the country. And the factions of the Egyptian elite fighting for power, being unable to prevail over each other, came to an agreement that Sadat would be the interim president.

Later in his memoirs, Sadat would write the following about the first days of his presidency: “I received an unenviable inheritance. Crushed human dignity... Violation of human rights... The legacy of hatred that Nasser caused at all levels... A bankrupt economy... Lack of normal relations with any country.” Indeed, after the 1967 war, part of Egypt's territory was occupied by Israel. Huge military spending undermined the country's economy, and Nasser's socialist experiments in industry and agriculture led it to complete stagnation and the outflow of foreign capital from Egypt. Government officials were thoroughly corrupt and demanded bribes from Soviet representatives, even when they signed agreements to receive assistance from the USSR.

At first, having no other real allies other than Moscow, Sadat publicly gave toasts in honor of the USSR. Arriving on an official visit to Moscow on March 1, 1971, he tried to convince the Soviet leadership to give him more weapons and made loud assurances of eternal friendship and readiness for a “joint struggle against imperialism.” And on June 10, 1971, in a public speech, he stated: “Our friendship with the USSR is not temporary, but a principled friendship, not phased, but permanent. We have acted and will always act together in a united world anti-imperialist front.”

At the same time, Sadat tried to establish contacts with the United States. The meetings between Jihan Sadat and American emissaries did not escape Soviet intelligence, which caused serious concern in Moscow. But there was no consensus among the Soviet leadership regarding Sadat. Some believed that Soviet political, military and economic contributions to Egypt made it impossible for Sadat to leave the USSR in the foreseeable future, others believed that Sadat, having balanced a little between the USSR and the USA and having received certain benefits from both, would return to the previous, Nasserian, course.

In May 1971, Sadat arrested Ali Sarbi and all members of the pro-Soviet group in the Egyptian leadership on charges of preparing a coup. And in the same May, he signed a treaty of friendship and cooperation with the USSR, and also unofficially invited Moscow to accept Egypt into the Warsaw Pact Organization. In July 1972, Sadat demanded that the USSR withdraw 15 thousand Soviet specialists from Egypt, including military personnel and military advisers, and soon invited Moscow to extend the agreement on the use of Egyptian ports by the Soviet Navy. This dual policy is explained by the fact that Sadat was forced to maneuver between the USSR and the USA. To radically improve the economic situation, he needed large investments, which only the United States could provide, and to defeat Israel, without which no negotiations with the Americans were possible, supplies of Soviet weapons were required.

Much has been written about the 1973 war (the Yom Kippur War). There is a version that Sadat, in secret negotiations with the Americans, agreed on the framework of a future war. As a result, Sadat received the image of a winner inside Egypt, invited the Americans for the post-war settlement and finally got rid of Soviet influence. On January 18, 1974, Sadat, through American mediation, signed an agreement with Israel on the disengagement of troops, in June 1975, he opened the Suez Canal for free navigation, in March 1976, he tore up the treaty of friendship and cooperation with the USSR, and in October 1977, he announced a suspension for a ten-year period. payment of war debts to Moscow, in November 1977 he visited Jerusalem, and on September 17, 1978 at Camp David (USA) he signed a peace treaty with Israel. As a result, he made his enemy not only Moscow, but the entire Arab world. Syria, Libya, Algeria, Iraq and South Yemen have severed diplomatic relations with Egypt.

Meanwhile, the economic situation in Egypt has not changed. Numerous Western loans did not bring the desired result, since a significant part of them was stolen by officials. Already in 1977, food riots began in the country, which never happened under Nasser. Realizing the precariousness of his position, Sadat rushed about in search of support from the population and the elite. He began to flirt with the Muslim clergy, but in 1978, without receiving the expected results, he unleashed a barrage of repression against radical religious organizations. It was in this situation that a conspiracy against Sadat arose in the late 1970s.

The official ideologist and main organizer of Sadat's assassination is the religious fanatic, engineer Mohammed Farrag, a member of the Islamic extremist organization defeated in 1978. After some time, he met a lieutenant colonel of Egyptian military intelligence in a mosque, after which the conspiracy began to take real shape. In particular, a religious fanatic, Senior Lieutenant Khaled Islambouli, was involved in it. The conspirators came to the attention of the intelligence services several times. Thus, Islambuli was repeatedly interrogated about his connections with extremists. And in September 1981, security services arrested more than a thousand Islamists. At the same time, the USSR ambassador, six employees of the Soviet embassy and two journalists were expelled from Egypt as “inciting religious hatred and organizing a conspiracy against the existing system.”

But, according to the official version, the conspirators were lucky. Islambuli was allowed to participate in the parade to mark the victory in the Yom Kippur War. On October 5, he managed to lead his comrades to the unit’s location, and then, despite the strictest ban, send three of his soldiers on leave, replacing them with conspirators. Moreover, he managed to hide magazines loaded with machine gun cartridges in the truck, although strict checks for the presence of ammunition were carried out in all units participating in the parade.

On the morning of October 6, getting ready for the parade, Sadat, confident in his complete safety, did not wear a bulletproof vest under his uniform. However, his wife Cihan refused to attend the parade. For a long time after the celebrations began, it seemed that nothing would happen. But at the very end of the parade, in front of the stand, from which security had just been removed, a truck pulling a cannon suddenly stopped, from which several people in uniform jumped out. Shooting as they went, they rushed to the podium and a few moments later literally riddled Sadat with machine guns. At the same time, one of the attackers shouted to Vice President Hosni Mubarak standing nearby: “Get away, we don’t need you!” The mortally wounded Sadat, at the direction of his wife, was taken not to the hospital, but to his residence, where he remained without medical care for about an hour. And when the doctors finally arrived, they could only pronounce death.

Of course, all the conspirators, including Farraga, were captured, convicted and executed. They were declared religious fanatics who obtained money to carry out their plan by robbing jewelry stores owned by Christians. However, the official version did not mislead anyone.

Of course, high-ranking leaders of Egyptian military intelligence stood behind the conspirators. Otherwise, it is difficult to explain the fact that the main participants in the conspiracy were not arrested the day before, as well as Islambuli’s incredible “luck” before the parade. But the military only covered up the conspirators, acting on the instructions of representatives of the Egyptian elite. Otherwise, the attackers could have killed all the top leaders of the country who were on the podium, including Hosni Mubarak, but this did not happen. In addition, Sadat's guards, who left their post in front of the podium moments before the attack, were not subordinate to the military.

The threads of the conspiracy also extend abroad. The leaders of Arab countries, the US administration, and the leadership of the USSR could have wished for Sadat’s death. Thus, after Sadat signed a peace treaty with Israel and received the Nobel Peace Prize for this, some Arab leaders could well agree to eliminate him in order to avoid further splits in their ranks. As for the Americans, they were extremely dissatisfied with Sadat's domestic policies towards Islamic fundamentalists. His vacillation from flirting with them to repression caused serious concern in Washington, especially given the American fear of a new Islamic revolution, similar to the one that occurred in Iran in 1979. This version is supported by the behavior of Sadat’s wife, who ordered the helicopter pilots to take Sadat not to the hospital, but to his residence, where she spoke with Washington for some time.

As for Moscow, there is no need to talk much about its interest in Sadat’s death. It is not for nothing that the following was stated here regarding the assassination of Sadat: “The patriotic forces organized themselves and put an end to him. Since then, our relationship has improved and become stronger.” And the Soviet special services had very real opportunities to eliminate Sadat. Many Egyptian officers, including those from military intelligence, studied in the USSR. And like many other foreigners, they were engaged in illegal currency transactions - they imported gold and currency into the country, which was punishable by Soviet law up to the death penalty. In such conditions, catching the hand and recruiting an Egyptian officer, even a high-ranking one, was not difficult.

These are the main versions of what happened. All of them have the right to exist, and the latter is held by many in the Middle East. However, most likely, the true reasons for Sadat’s assassination will remain unknown.

On October 6, 1981, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat was assassinated during a military parade. Since then, many people have been investigating this murder (and continue to this day). Most of them are journalists. I also belong to them.

I'll explain why. From February 1976 to September 1981, I worked in Egypt as my own correspondent for the Trud newspaper. True, we had to leave the hospitable country on the Nile within 24 hours. Because the Egyptian authorities declared me (along with the ambassador, six diplomats and a TASS correspondent) persona non grata, accusing me of... inciting religious hatred and organizing a conspiracy to overthrow the existing regime. Of course, I could not help but investigate the circumstances of the murder (more precisely, the execution) of the Egyptian “rais” (president). Moreover, for almost six years I observed it, as they say, with my own eyes.

It is not difficult for me to answer the question: “Why was Sadat executed and who carried out the sentence?” It is much more difficult (and most likely impossible) to find answers to many other questions. And first of all to the main one: “Who was behind the assassination of the president?”

Recently I came across some interesting documents: notes from Egyptian lawyer Khaled Shawky, interrogation records of participants in the operation, as well as materials from an investigation conducted by Egyptian journalist Adel Hamuda. And although I found in them answers to many questions that interested me, after reading the documents new ones arose.

But before we ask them, let’s restore the events of that tragic Tuesday in their chronological sequence...

EXECUTION OR 40 SECONDS OF HELL

That morning, Cihan Rauf, aka Jihan Sadat, whom her husband affectionately called “Gigi” and “Gigi,” got up as usual at six o’clock and woke up her granddaughter Yasmin.

Go wake up grandpa,” she said. - Today is a military parade.

The granddaughter ran to her grandfather's bedroom. She jumped onto his bed and started pulling his mustache.

Get up! - she shouted. - Today is a military parade.

Sadat woke up. Unusually early for me. As a rule, he woke up around ten.

He had long considered October 6 an ordinary day. Although it was on this day in 1973, during the fourth Arab-Israeli war, that the Egyptians managed to cross the Suez Canal and overcome the Barlev Line. For Egypt, October 6th became Victory Day. Since then, every year in the square in the Madinat Nasr area, located on the outskirts of Cairo, troops march in parade, demonstrating the power of the Egyptian army.

In Egypt, this war is called the war of “Ramadan”, since the offensive of the Arab troops (Egyptian and Syrian) coincided with the beginning of the Muslim holiday - Ramadan. In Israel at this time, Yom Kippur was celebrated - the day of atonement for sins, Divine judgment and self-purification.

After this war, Sadat began to be called a “war hero” in Egypt. And after a trip to Jerusalem and the signing of the Camp David agreements, he became a “hero of war and peace.”

Breakfast "raisa" was modest: a toasted piece of bread with butter and honey and a cup of tea without sugar. A bad stomach forced him to adhere to a strict diet. He quickly glanced through the morning newspapers and, putting them aside, went to the massage room.

First he did some light exercises. Then he was treated by a massage therapist. On normal days, this procedure lasted about an hour. But that morning he only spent half an hour with the masseur.

After taking a shower and putting on a terry robe, he sat down at a small table on which there was a telephone. They brought him mint tea and fresh fruit.

He called first his son Gamal in the United States, then his relative Osman Ahmed Osman, Vice President Hosni Mubarak, and Interior Minister Muhammad Nabavi Ismail.

At this time, his personal doctor, Mohammed Atiya, came to Sadat, who examined him every day since the president suffered a second heart attack. But that day “rais” felt great.

After the doctor left, his personal secretary, Fawzi Abdel Hafez, came in to see him.

What's the news? - asked the president.

Glory be to Allah! Everything is fine!

Will there be a parade? - Sadat asked with a smile.

Yes, Mr. President. In the morning the Ministry of Defense called and said that everything was ready.

Sadat looked through the telegrams and papers that Fawzi brought.

After speaking with the secretary, he put on the blue dress uniform (similar to the Nazi one) of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. Then he pinned the Order of the Star of Sinai, which he had awarded himself, on the right side of his chest, and on the left side - order pads in eight rows. He tied a wide green ribbon over his right shoulder.

Will you wear a bulletproof vest? - Jihan asked.

(The body armor was made for Sadat in the United States in 1977. He first wore it in November of that year when he went to Jerusalem.)

For what? - Sadat was surprised. - After all, you know where I’m going... To my children!

But Sadat refused to wear a bulletproof vest for another reason. His new dress uniform, which was made for him in London, turned out to be too tight and he could barely fit into it. He also refused to take the field marshal's baton, which he took to all parades.

“He makes me look like a pharaoh,” the president explained to his wife.

Jihan Sadat, who was 15 years younger than her 63-year-old husband, took a quick look at him and noted that the blue uniform suited him very well.

True, that day the First Lady of Egypt was a little saddened that Sadat forced her to take her grandson Sharif to the parade.

He became a man! - said the president.

Sharif was Sadat's favorite. That year he turned five years old. The President took him with him everywhere: to Friday prayers, to a meeting with the Israeli Prime Minister in Aswan, etc.

What about the rest? - Jihan asked.

Take them too,” Sadat replied.

Jihan had no intention of going to this parade at all. She wanted to watch it on TV. Moreover, while Sadat was taking a shower, she called the security officer who was responsible for her protection.

“I’m calling you to warn you that I won’t be going to the parade,” the first lady said. - I'll watch it on TV.

She did not tell him about her feelings that she experienced that morning, but said:

I don't like military parades!

“I don’t agree with you,” the officer replied. - Today is the most important day in the life of Egypt.

OK! I will go...

Having looked at himself for the last time in the mirror, Sadat kissed his wife and went downstairs. The First Lady stayed at home, waiting for her grandchildren. She went to the window and saw her husband going down the stairs. At that moment, she suddenly remembered the phrase Sadat had uttered a few days ago: “Jigi! I will soon see Allah... Most likely before the end of the year...”

The President, accompanied by eight bodyguards, got into a black armored Cadillac and went to the grave of his older brother, the pilot Afif Sadat, who was shot down on October 6, 1973 over the Sinai Peninsula. He then met with Vice President Hosni Mubarak and Defense Minister Mohamed Abdel Halim Abu Ghazzala. The three of them visited the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, located not far from the square through which the troops were soon to parade. As in previous years, Sadat lingered at the mausoleum of Gamal Abdel Nasser.

Many noticed that Sadat was unusually active, fussing, and his face expressed dissatisfaction.

Then Sadat, Mubarak and Abu Ghazzala got into the presidential Cadillac and headed to the parade site. The president's bodyguards stood on special steps on both sides of the car. Almost everyone, in the American style, was wearing black sunglasses. The car was surrounded by 15 motorcyclists.

The annual military parade, held for the eighth time, was scheduled to begin at 11-20 and end two hours later. The best units of the Egyptian army, numbering about 400 thousand people, had been preparing for it for weeks. Eleven times they marched around the square in front of the empty stands. Military equipment eloquently reflected the zigzags of Sadat's foreign policy. There were American tanks, Soviet anti-aircraft guns, and French planes.

Security measures have reached the limit of cruelty. From early morning, six military trucks containing security personnel were stationed near the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, where Sadat was supposed to arrive. Police soldiers blocked all nearby streets and alleys leading to the parade site.

Invitation cards were yellow, car passes were red. Even the Minister of Defense was given an invitation card, although he himself invited and approved the list of invitees. By the way, the guests of honor invited to the podium were subjected to inspection - they all went through special detectors.

Security authorities carefully ensured that there was not a single pistol or machine gun loaded with live ammunition in the hands of the military personnel taking part in the parade. The signal colonel and a small group of his officers were not allowed to enter the podium at six in the morning to check the telephone connection.

Sadat, Mubarak and Abu Ghazzala arrived at the parade site at 11:05. They exited the Cadillac amid shouts of approval and thunderous applause. Shouts were heard everywhere: “Our souls and your blood, Sadat!” "Long live Anwar Sadat - hero of war and peace!"

When the president and distinguished guests reached the podium, the national anthem sounded.

At 11-10, Sadat slowly ascended to the presidential podium. He looked around... There seemed to be nothing suspicious... He ceremoniously sat down on a plastic chair in the first row, taking the central place on the podium, and looked around again.

To his right is Hosni Mubarak, followed by the Minister of State of the Sultanate of Oman, Shabib Ben Teimur. Oman is the only Arab state that did not break off relations with Egypt after Sadat’s visit to Jerusalem and the signing of the Camp David Accords. To the left of the president, Abu Ghazzal took the chair.

In the second row behind Sadat are his personal secretary Fawzi Abdel Hafez, then ministers, foreign guests, ambassadors, etc.

A few minutes before the start of the parade, Jihan Sadat sent her grandchildren to their grandfather. He kissed them, patted their heads, and pressed Sharif to his chest. Then he told them to go to their grandmother.

While waiting for the parade to begin, Sadat spoke with the vice president and the minister of defense. They discussed new shipments of American weapons and future celebrations to mark the Israeli withdrawal from Sinai on April 25, 1982.

As in previous years, the parade began traditionally.

The venerable Khattab (preacher) recited the text from the Koran in a chant and sedately departed.

Then the Minister of Defense approached the microphone. He thanked the United States for providing weapons to Egypt and commanded the troops to march in a solemn ceremony. Music started playing. Abu Ghazzala returned to his place.

A few minutes later the first ranks of soldiers and officers of various branches of the army appeared.

Sadat shivered. He didn't want to go to today's parade. This morning, while talking to the vice president on the phone, he complained that he was very tired and would be more than happy to stay at home. But, as he himself noted, duty obliged. Now some kind of unconscious anxiety came over him. He already regretted that he had not taken the field marshal's baton. (Later, Jihan Sadat would interpret what happened with the staff as a sign of trouble.) The President took out his pipe, lit it and slowly blew out the smoke. But the desired calm did not come.

And soldiers and officers, cadets of military schools, standard bearers, and border guards rode camels walked and walked by. At about one o'clock in the afternoon American "phantoms" appeared in the sky. They performed aerobatic maneuvers and disappeared.

Everything went according to the pre-planned plan. Announcers in two languages - Arabic and English - commented on the progress of the parade. Somewhat hampered by the fact that many cars were forced to leave the ranks due to malfunctions, which happened more than once before. But the parachutists’ jump from a height of 2100 meters was a success. Dressed in colorful sand-colored camouflage overalls, they landed in a given place: right in front of the podium of high-ranking guests. Sadat rose and returned their greeting.

At this time a column of motorcyclists appeared. Suddenly one stopped. Right in front of the podium. The soldier began to push the motorcycle in front of him.

The parade was coming to an end. The clock hands were counting down to the second hour of noon. The words came from the loudspeakers:

Now you will see Mirage-type fighter-bombers, the pilots of which will demonstrate their skills.

Five “mirages” appeared in the sky. After performing a series of aerobatics, the fighters flew over the stand, leaving behind a trail of colors that were breathtaking in the spectrum - yellow, green, blue, orange. Spectacular. Perhaps that is why no one noticed how a column of trucks with 130-mm guns attached appeared.

Suddenly one of the cars turned towards the grandstand and stopped. Many decided that there was a breakdown, just like with the motorcycle. An officer jumped out of the cab and everyone thought that he would try to fix the problem. But the officer threw a grenade, which, hitting the podium, exploded.

And at this time the announcer, greeting the artillerymen, said:

They are loyal to the head of state...

The officer who threw the grenade was Khaled Islambouli, a senior lieutenant in the 333rd Artillery Brigade, which regularly participated in military parades. Then he took out a heavy machine gun from the cab. At the same moment, another grenade flew out of the back (it was thrown by Ata Tail), and three of the six soldiers sitting in the truck jumped onto the asphalt. All with machine guns at the ready.

Glory to Egypt! Forward! - the screams of the soldiers were heard.

And from the loudspeakers it was already booming:

Havana! Traitors!

Before the shock wore off among those sitting in the stands, Khaled Islambouli threw a third grenade. It fell next to the podium, but did not explode. Smoke came out of it.

As it dissipated, a fourth grenade, thrown by Abdel Hamid Abdel Al, exploded. But the fragments did not harm anyone.

At that moment, the Minister of Defense “woke up”, realizing that something unusual was happening. The last one to “wake up” was Sadat. He rose from his chair and straightened up. He was confused and kept repeating:

It can't be... It can't be...

These were the last words of the Egyptian president. He was overtaken by bullets fired by the fourth participant in the assassination attempt, who stood in the back and fired from a machine gun at the podium. Since Sadat stood motionless for some time and became an easy target, it was impossible to miss. Moreover, the man with the machine gun was one of the best shooters, the champion of the Egyptian army in shooting - sniper Hussein Abbas Ali.

After Hussein Abbas gave the first turn, he jumped off the truck to join Khaled Islambouli and his comrades who were running towards the stand.

Islambuli ran ahead. On the right is Abdel Hamid Ali. On the left is Ata Tail.

Running up to the podium, they again opened fire on Sadat. Their bursts injured many of those sitting in the front row.

The seriously wounded Fawzi Abdel Hafez tried to cover Sadat with a chair. He thought that the president was still alive, that the chair would save his life.

Abdel Hamid was close to Hosni Mubarak and shouted to him:

We don't need you! We need a pharaoh!

Khaled Islambouli made a sign with his hand to Abu Ghazzala and shouted:

Step aside!

Having said this, he continued to shoot. His comrades also shot.

Khaled Islambouli's machine gun malfunctioned. He silently extended his hand to Ata Tail, who took the machine gun and handed him the machine gun.

Suddenly a shot rang out and a bullet hit Khaled Islambouli. But he found the strength to jump onto the podium and find Sadat lying on the floor.

Allahu Akbar! - he shouted. - Allah is great!

At this moment, Abdel Hamid was also wounded with two bullets in the stomach. He saw the shooter, who picked up the child and covered himself with it like a shield. By this time, Hussein Abbas had used up all the ammunition.

After making sure that Sadat was dead, they ran in different directions.

The operation lasted 40 seconds... However, only 19 seconds turned out to be fatal for Sadat. On the 20th, he was already lying face down in a pool of blood, showing no signs of life.

As soon as they ran away, the presidential guards and security officers opened fire on them.

The stand was a terrible sight. Bleeding wounded, rushing guards, honored guests trying to get up. Vice President Mubarak was slightly wounded. A grenade fell at the feet of the Minister of War, but did not explode. Another grenade, thrown at one of the generals, exploded directly in his face and inflicted a mortal wound on him. Among those killed were the president's senior valet Hassan Alam, photographer Mohammed Rashwan and Coptic bishop Samuel. The ambassadors of Cuba and Belgium, the first secretary of the Australian diplomatic mission, presidential confidant Sayed Marei and three American military advisers who were in Egypt to negotiate planned joint military exercises were injured.

When the shooting began, Jihan Sadat with her grandchildren, wives of ministers and high-ranking guests was in a special room from where she watched the parade. This room was separated from the main stand by a special glass partition. She saw everything that happened...

But she maintained an enviable calmness and became enraged only when her husband fell, bleeding profusely.

She told her secretary:

What a crazy state!

At that moment, the wife of the Minister of Internal Affairs, Faida Kamel, rushed to her screaming. The First Lady shouted to her:

Shut up!

But she continued to sob, repeating:

Muhammad! Muhammad! Come to me!

Her husband, Muhammad Nabavi Ismail, managed to escape and hide. He will show up only after he realizes that the events at the parade were not a coup.

Jihan Sadat rushed to the door, trying to get through to her husband, but one of the bodyguards blocked her way and, for safety reasons, knocked her to the floor.

Among the millions of Egyptians who watched the parade on television were Ahmed Shawky al-Islambouli and his wife Kadriya - the father and mother of Khaled Islambouli.

It was difficult to recognize Khaled on television. However, when the first shots rang out and everything was mixed up at the parade, anxiety crept into the mother’s soul. At this time, my father turned to the radio and heard a message from London radio: artillery soldiers had attempted to assassinate Sadat.

This is our son! - exclaimed the mother.

Shut up! - the father shouted. - My son couldn't do this.

When the next day the Egyptian newspaper Al-Akhbar published a photograph showing Khaled lying with his comrades on the ground in a pool of blood, his mother did not recognize him and said:

No, this is not my son...

No, it's your son! - the father objected.

On the same day, London radio reported that the name of one of the assassins was Khaled Ata Allah.

The mother exclaimed:

I told you it's not Khaled.

No,” the father objected again, “this is our son Khaled.”

Sadat's lifeless body was loaded into an armored helicopter, which stood not far from the podium. This helicopter, a Sikorsky KX-53 E, equipped with various security systems, was presented to Sadat by US President Nixon. Seconds before takeoff, shouting “Where is the President?” Jihan Sadat literally jumped into the helicopter. As soon as he took off into the air, the first lady (now the former) in an authoritative voice that did not tolerate objections, ordered a stop in Giza, where Sadat’s residence was located.

After getting off the helicopter, Jihan ordered to wait for her return. Ten minutes passed, twenty... Meanwhile, she went up to her bedroom, sat down by the phone and called the USA twice. First to his son Gamal, who was vacationing with friends in Florida, then to Washington. To whom? Unknown...

She appeared half an hour later and climbed into the helicopter. He sharply gained altitude and headed for Maadi, where a military hospital was located. By the way, Sadat’s friend, the ex-Shah of Iran Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, spent his last days there.

This delay made it possible for Hosni Mubarak to arrive at the hospital before the helicopter. He got there in a Ministry of Defense vehicle, ordering the driver to drive at top speed. Anxious thoughts overwhelmed the vice president during the journey. He could not understand the purpose of killing Sadat. What is this - a military coup? He didn't have an answer to this question.

After 20 minutes, the helicopter landed on a site near a military hospital. Sadat was immediately taken to the operating room. He was unconscious. The pulse was not palpable. The heartbeat is inaudible. Eleven doctors, led by General A. Karim, tried to save him for two hours. When an encephalogram showed that the president’s brain showed no signs of life, the doctors gave up. An autopsy showed that one of the bullets that hit Sadat hit the pulmonary artery. He received a severe wound on the left side of his chest. Finally, another bullet hit him in the neck, which doomed him to death.

(I will note in parentheses that Libyan radio was the first to report Sadat’s death at 14:25. “All tyrants end this way,” the message said.)

When General A. Karim came out of the operating room, his face expressed complete hopelessness.

Hosni Mubarak ordered doctors to remain silent. He wanted to delay the announcement of the president's death as long as possible in order to figure out what happened and put the army and internal security forces on alert.

At this time, the head of the information department, Safuat Sharif, approached the vice president.

“Many people want to know what the president’s condition is,” he said. - What should I tell the correspondents? What to announce to the population?

Cairo Radio broadcast the following short message:

"During the parade, fire was opened on the podium. Sadat, Mubarak and Abu Ghazzala left the dangerous place."

The first person to learn of Sadat's injury was the American Ambassador to Egypt, Alfred Atherton, who contacted the Secretary of Defense by telephone.

Abu Ghazzala answered him:

Trouble befell Sadat. However, the wound is minor.

Four hours after the first message, Radio Cairo interrupted its transmissions and transmitted the following information:

“Today, during a military parade, fire was opened on the podium, as a result of which the President of the Republic and some of the persons accompanying him were wounded. The President was taken to the hospital and is under medical supervision.”

When it became clear that Sadat had died, Hosni Mubarak left the hospital and went to his home in Madinat Nasr. There he ordered the secretary to gather the government for an emergency meeting by 18:00.

Khaled Islambouli, Abdel Hamid and Ata Tail (Hussein Abbas would be arrested only three days after the parade), despite being wounded in the stomach, were interrogated in the car that was taking them to the Maadi hospital.

The investigators did not ask them why they decided to kill Sadat, where they got the ammunition, how the operation was prepared and carried out? They were interested in only one question: the boundaries of the conspiracy, the participation of the army in it.

The first results of the interrogation were immediately transferred to Hosni Mubarak, who was in the hospital, and Abu Gazzale, who was at the Ministry of Defense.

There was no need for the Vice President to inform members of the government of Sadat's death. They already knew about it. Therefore, Mubarak proposed discussing specific measures to strengthen control over the situation in the country.

Three of the four conspirators have been arrested, he said. - They were taken to Maadi Hospital. Initial information indicates that religious figures are behind these events.

Abu Ghazzala added:

There is no doubt about the dedication and loyalty of the army.

The meeting ended with the ministers unanimously agreeing to nominate Hosni Mubarak for the post of president of the republic.

Then an emergency meeting of the Politburo of the ruling National Democratic Party took place. It lasted more than two hours. It discussed the issue of preparations for the funeral and the transfer of power to the vice president.

During this meeting, Cairo radio and television broadcast suras from the Koran. Everyone understood that the president had died.

At the end of the meeting, Hosni Mubarak announced to the whole world the assassination of President Sadat.

Millions of Egyptians breathed a sigh of relief...

ACCORDING TO THE "NEW JIHAD"

Everyday life in Cairo has not changed. Only the flags at half-staff reminded of the forty days of mourning.

The President chose his own gravestone inscription. Three years before his death, he proposed to inscribe on a granite slab: “Muhammad Anwar Sadat - hero of war and peace.”

Which was done...

Apparently, the number "6" was Anwar Sadat's number. At least important in his life. On February 6, 1938, he graduated from military school. On January 6, 1946, he participated in the assassination attempt on the Egyptian minister Amin Osman, for which he was expelled from the army. On January 6, 1950 he returned to the armed forces. On October 6, 1973, he began the war against Israel. Killed on October 6, 1981.

The names of the attackers were announced two days after the assassination of the president.

Khaled Ahmed Showki al-Islambuli is a 24-year-old first lieutenant and artillery commander.

Abdel Hamid Abdel Al is a 28-year-old former air defense officer.

Ata Tail is a 26-year-old senior lieutenant in the reserve engineering forces.

Hussein Abbas Mohammed is a 27-year-old sergeant in the People's Defense Forces.

Soon, the illegal extremist organization At-Tafkir wal-Hijra (Redemption and Exodus) came to light. "Redemption" for those who have ceased to be true Muslims, faithful to Allah. These, according to the founders of the organization, “are not needed by the earth.” “Exodus” is the journey of the Prophet Muhammad from Mecca to Medina, which marked the most important stage in the history of the formation of Islam as a religion and the beginning of gradual recognition by the population of the Prophet and his preaching. In fact, this means a ban on any deviation from the teachings, a rejection of everything that is alien to Islam. This trend has quite deep roots in certain segments of the Egyptian population.

The ideological leader of the At-Tafkir wal-Hijra organization is considered to be Sayyid Qutb, who was executed in 1966 after an unsuccessful assassination attempt on President Nasser.

But the conspirators were members not of this, but of another organization - Al-Jihad (Holy War).

As it turned out during the investigation, the Al-Jihad organization was created in 1977 after the visit of the Egyptian President to Jerusalem. The main goal is the assassination of Anwar Sadat, the overthrow of the existing regime and the creation of an Islamic state. To implement these plans, members of Al-Jihad began to study military affairs.

In 1979, the organization was destroyed, its leaders and members were arrested. Only a few managed to avoid arrest. One of them was 30-year-old electrical engineer Mohammed Abdel Salam Farrag, who joined al-Jihad in 1978. He escaped arrest only because he was a young member of the organization and was not part of the leadership. Almost no one knew him.

After the defeat, Farrag moved from Alexandria to Cairo, got a job as an engineer at the capital's university and began to hatch a plan to create a new organization under the same name.

In the spring of 1980, he met Tarek Ibrahim, an agricultural student, at Friday prayers in a mosque. Tom was a little over twenty, he had read a lot of religious literature, but did not know what to do.

Through him, Farrag met Lieutenant Colonel of Military Intelligence Aboud Latif al-Zumr, who was the husband of Tarek's sister.

They became friends and decided to create the Al-Jihad organization in order to later “carry out an Islamic revolution in the name of Allah by armed means for the liberation of the homeland from the tyrant.”

In the summer of 1980, Karam Zahdi, the leader of an Islamic group in Minya province, was released from arrest. Farrag had heard a lot about him, but did not know him personally. He came to his house and said frankly:

Karam! I want to tell you something very important.

We want to create an Islamic state.

How?

Through the people's revolution. I decided to create a secret military organization called Al-Jihad.

Zahdi liked this idea.

During the investigation he will state:

I understood from Farrag's words that he intended to start a "holy war." We agreed to create a secret Islamic organization, the purpose of which is to eliminate President Sadat and a number of political figures and overthrow the existing regime in the country. The ultimate goal is to create an Islamic state.

At the end of 1980, Farrag met Nabil Abdel Magid al-Maghrabi. Tom was 30 years old. He also read religious literature and was inspired by Farrag's ideas. He was tasked with recruiting young people into the organization.

After Farrag finished selecting the leaders of the future organization, a secret meeting took place in his house. It was attended by Aboud Zumr, Karam Zahdi, Fouad Hanafi and Nabil Magrabi.

They developed the structure of the organization. The highest governing body was the Majlis al-Shura, which included 11 people. 3 committees were created: military (military training, provision of weapons and ammunition), economic (financial issues) and propaganda (leaflets).

Thus was born the organization "Al-Jihad al-Jadid" ("New Jihad"), which sentenced Sadat to death and carried it out.

Farrag became its leader.

In March 1981, Aboud Zumr developed a plan to carry out the Islamic Revolution. The main point of the plan was to assassinate Sadat.

From the indictment

The accused planned:

Carry out the assassination of President Sadat during the military parade on October 6, 1981, while he was sitting on the podium. To this end, they intended to train a suicide pilot who would crash into the stands during the parade. However, they abandoned this goal.

Kill Sadat during his vacation at the Qanatir residence. This proposal was made by Abood Zumr. He personally examined the place where the president rested and the security system. But soon this proposal had to be abandoned due to the difficulties associated with entering the residence.

Open fire on Sadat as he arrives on a train at Al-Mansura station on September 25, 1981. The plan was as follows: members of the organization mix with the crowd, then wait for the right moment and open fire.

Having set the goal of killing Sadat, Abud Zumr began collecting information about all his movements and resting places. Since he was a lieutenant colonel in military intelligence, he taught members of the organization about conspiracy, secret writing, identifying surveillance, etc. All leaders and members of the organization had underground pseudonyms: Zumr - “Mansur”, Magrabi - “Barakat”, Khaled Islambouli - “Zafir”.

Ata Tail and Farrag were from the same village. That's why Farrag recommended him to Jihad. Hussein Abbas was recommended to the organization by Nabil Magrabi, who was married to his sister.

Khaled Islmbouli met Farrag in April 1981 at a mosque located in the Bulaq ad-Dakrur area. This first meeting was the first step towards carrying out the assassination of Sadat.

During the meetings, Farrag told Islambouli that the country was ruled by a “wicked man” and that the situation could only change if Islamic laws were observed.

Now Egypt is going through dark days, Farrag urged. “This period will end only when the regime of the wicked, who must be killed, is overthrown.

Soon Khaled Islambouli joined the organization. He also brought Abdel Hamid with him.

At the time when Farrag was creating his "Jihad", there was another person who was doing the same thing - creating a secret organization with the same name. This man was Mohammed Ar-Rahal, a Jordanian by birth, a student at Al-Azhar University. Like Farrag, he was a member of the old Jihad and also managed to avoid arrest.

Farrag planned to carry out a popular Islamic revolution. Rahal - military coup.

In the summer of 1981, Rahal came to the attention of the Egyptian security service and was expelled from the country.

Kamal Said, Rahal's close friend and assistant, continued his work. He was assisted by Cairo International Airport employee Ahmed Raghib Salam. They focused their efforts on recruiting members of the organization into the armed forces. They managed to attract many officers and soldiers. Then they began to obtain weapons, ammunition, and explosives to use at the right time.

In March 1981, military intelligence received information about this organization. Many soldiers and officers were arrested.

The organization needed money. In its activities, it relied on contributions from its members and donations from sympathizers. But this was clearly not enough, especially for the purchase of weapons.

During the investigation, it was established that one of the leaders, Ali Sharaf, came up with the idea of robbing several jewelry stores owned by Christians. This issue was brought up for discussion by the leadership of Al-Jihad al-Jadid. Everyone agreed with Ali Sharaf's proposal.

On July 26, 1981, he carried out the first operation in the Cairo suburb of Nagaa Hamadi, during which money and jewelry were stolen. The stolen goods were delivered to Karam Zahdi.

On July 31, a second operation was carried out, led by Nabil Magrabi. The raiders stole 2.5 kg of gold from a store located in the Shubra al-Khaimah neighborhood.

In addition, the organization received money from Egyptians living abroad. Before the assassination of Sadat, she received 21 thousand US dollars, 10,400 West German marks, 26 thousand Egyptian pounds.

During the investigation, it turned out that most of the weapons were purchased through the army and police.

In late August 1981, Tarek Ibrahim contacted Kamal Said and convinced him to join Farragh's organization.

On September 2, 1981, President Sadat issued Decree © 493 arresting 1,036 people. Many members of the Jihad, led by Kamal Said, were arrested, weapons and ammunition were confiscated.

Farrag's organization was the only one left in operation. 85% of its members are university students. Most of them are from poor families. The students were followed by artisans - hairdressers, butchers, plumbers, tailors, grocers. After artisans - school teachers, office workers, doctors, merchants, and military personnel. The latter played the most active role in the acquisition of weapons and ammunition.

A few days before his arrest, he met Sabri Abdel Moneim Hassan in a mosque and asked for help in purchasing weapons. He agreed.

On the evening of September 19, Nabil Magrabi came to Sabri Hasan and asked him to take him and four friends outside the city to the desert, where they wanted to practice shooting. When they arrived at the scene, Sabri Hasan remained in the car, while Magrabi and his companions went into the desert and disappeared. After some time, shots were heard. Some time later, Maghrabi and his friends returned, got into the car and drove to Cairo.

Sabri Hasan reported to the police. Then he took the police to the place where Magrabi and his companions were practicing shooting. Empty cartridges were found there. The police instructed Sabri Hassan to fulfill his promise: to hand over the weapons that were given to him here.

On September 25, Magrabi visited Sabri Hasan. He handed him 2 machine guns and 4 “magazines”. The guest put the weapon in a suitcase and asked for a ride home. As they drove down the street, police stopped the car and arrested Maghrabi. All his meetings with Sabri Hasan were recorded on videotape. But Maghrabi denied everything. The police were never able to get the necessary testimony from him.

However, members of the organization took the necessary precautions.

During a meeting between Aboud Zumr and Farrag, who was lying at home with a broken leg, the latter said:

We will definitely be revealed...

Then what are we waiting for? - Zumr asked. - Let all members of the organization disappear for a while.

I agree,” Farrag replied.

And what will you do? After all, your leg is broken...

Something will think...

At this time, he was thinking about Khaled Islambouli, with whom he wanted to take refuge. He was an army officer and hardly aroused suspicion.

After Zumr left, Farrag contacted Abdel Hamid by telephone and asked to send Islambouli to him.

On the day Maghrabi was arrested, Islambouli woke up and went up to the apartment of Abdel Hamid, his foster brother, who lived on the floor above. They had breakfast and went to the nearest mosque for Friday prayers.

During the sermon, Islambouli whispered to Abdel Hamid:

Coming out of the mosque, Islambuli said:

I will participate in the military parade and liberate Egypt and Islam from the tyrant.

Abdel Hamid realized that Islambouli could not be convinced, so he sent him to Farrag.

When Khaled came to him, he reported the arrest of Nabil Magrabi and made a request:

I urgently need another apartment. They are looking for me on the orders of the “son of a dog.”

“I will participate in the military parade,” Khaled said. - I am ready to do everything to get rid of the tyrant.

Farrag couldn't believe his ears. He didn't know whether to believe Khaled or not. Therefore he said:

I think that the probability of success of the operation at the parade is negligible...

Khaled responded:

You know that I have participated in many parades. I declare to you that the operation will be successful.

Are you sure?

Yes! But I need three reliable guys. They will replace my soldiers at the parade. I guarantee that I will include them in the parade.

How will you leave?

The main thing for me is to kill the pharaoh.

(This dialogue is recorded in the interrogation protocol.)

24 hours later, Khaled and Farrag met at Abdel Hamid's apartment. Ata Tail and Hussein Abbas also came there.

Are you ready to sacrifice yourself? - asked Farrag.

Those gathered silently nodded their heads.

After this, Farrag met with Aboud Zumr and told him about the meeting with Khaled Islambouli.

The parade is heavily guarded,” Zumer noted. - Sadat feels that his life is in danger and will take the most stringent security measures. What if Khaled and his friends fall into the hands of the intelligence services? They will expose our organization. I think we should wait for a more favorable moment.

Farrag replied:

The operation will be carried out by Khaled and his team. We, as an organization, do not participate in it. They have nothing to do with us. Finally, this is a suicide operation. They won't stay alive...

Abood Zumr agreed.

Farrag did not tell Khaled Islambouli and his comrades what would happen after Sadat's assassination. He did not tell them about the organization's future plans. He didn’t even talk about the “people's Islamic revolution.”

During the investigation, Farrag denied everything. He even stated that he first saw Khaled Islambouli only in a photograph in the newspaper after the assassination of the president.

Yes, he did not participate in the operation. But he was one of the main organizers and participants in its preparation. He got weapons, ammunition, grenades, and found the right people. Moreover, he did it in 24 hours. Farrag was the brains of the operation. Khaled and his comrades are the “muscles”.

At the trial, Farrag will state that Islambouli’s group was not fully trusted, they were afraid that if they fell into the hands of the security service, they could reveal the goals and plans of the organization.

KHALED AL-ISLAMBULI

Khaled Ahmed Showki al-Islambouli is the youngest of four children of lawyer Ahmed al-Islambouli.

My father was a member of the Muslim Brotherhood in his youth. However, in October 1954, after the assassination attempt on Gamal, Abdel Nasser left them.

Khaled Islambouli was born in 1957 in Minya province. Twenty years before Sadat's visit to Jerusalem. He is from the generation born after the revolution. This was the time when the words socialism and social justice became popular in Egypt. The first school he went to was called Notre Dame. This is one of the missionary schools opened in Egypt by Christians from Western Europe.

After his father began working for a sugar company in Nagaa Hamadi, Khaled went to an American missionary school.

When he was 10 years old, Egypt was going through dark days: on June 5, 1967, the Arab-Israeli war began. Khaled told his mother:

When I grow up, I will become a pilot and fly a plane against the Israelis.

But he failed to become a pilot. He became an army officer.

Since he graduated with honors from a military school, he had the right to choose the type of military service and place of service. He chose artillery. He was sent to the 333rd Artillery Brigade, located near Cairo.

After graduating from college, he lived the ordinary life of a young officer. True, even then he embarked on a religious path and read a lot about the Muslim holy war.

In October 1980, Khaled Islambouli was called to military intelligence. At that time he was a company commander in the 333rd Artillery Brigade.

Do you have friends in and outside the brigade? - asked the officer.

Name the names.

Khaled found himself in a quandary. He understood that if he named the names of his friends and his brother's friends, it could lead to trouble.

Do you know Abdullah al-Samawi?

No,” Khaled answered, although he knew the man.

Al-Samawi was one of the leaders of the At-Takfir wa al-Hijra organization. Khaled knew many members of this organization, with whom he prayed in the mosque.

After Haded left, the lieutenant colonel who interrogated him wrote a resolution on the protocol: “Forbid participation in military parades.” This meant that intelligence officials felt that Khaled Islambouli posed a danger because he was associated with religious groups.

On September 2, 1981, Khaled's older brother, Mohammed, was arrested. On September 3, he wrote in his notebook: “The greatest happiness for a believer is to kill or be killed in the name of Allah.”

Did this mean that he began to think about killing Sadat? Did his brother's arrest affect him? Obviously not, since Khaled did not yet know whether he would participate in the military parade. Why did Khaled start thinking about killing Sadat?

He answered this question himself during the trial.

Three reasons prompted me to do this. First: the laws that apply in our country do not comply with the teachings of Islam and the requirements of Sharia. Second: Sadat acted in the interests of the Zionists. Third: persecution and arrest of clergy.

In other words, the reasons were the following: the catastrophic socio-economic situation in the country, the Camp David agreements, the campaign of arrests and repression unleashed by Sadat.

On September 5, Khaled listened to another presidential speech. Then he asked himself: “How to end Sadat?”

Due to his brother's arrest, Khaled found himself in a difficult situation. He already knew that he would not participate in the military parade, so he decided to take another vacation from September 25, which coincided with the Feast of Sacrifice (Eid al-Adha). He decided to spend it with his parents and even booked a ticket for himself.

Sorry, Khaled, but I can't agree to your vacation right now.

You know my circumstances...

I know... I can't let you go because of Captain Abdel Rahman Suleiman. His wife is in the hospital. The condition is extremely serious. He's there all the time. If not for this, I would have let you go immediately. I'm sorry, Khaled, but you have to replace him in the parade.

I obey!

Then the major asked Islambuli:

What news about Muhammad?

Don't know. No one has seen him since his arrest.

Sorry again, Khaled.

So this is what Allah wants...

It was at this moment that Islambuli felt that fate had prepared for him a mission pleasing to Allah. The idea of killing Sadat during the parade took possession of him from that moment.

Go to the brigade’s location,” said the major. - Don’t forget to check the readiness of the soldiers and vehicles. If even one is faulty, stay out of my sight.

That same day, as Khaled lay in bed after lunch, he thought again about killing Sadat.

On the morning of September 24, senior lieutenant al-Islambuli and his unit participated in the passage of an artillery column. As he walked past the main podium, he thought again about assassinating the president.

That evening, Khaled walked up to the podium alone and walked around for a long time. At the trial, he will state that it was then that a plan to kill Sadat began to emerge.

He studied everything: the speed of the cars, the distance between the column and the podium. Even the number of people who will sit on the podium.

The only thing he didn't know was the number of guards. But when planning the murder, he relied on surprise. And also that Sadat would be killed before the guards paid attention to him (he wanted to eliminate the president alone).

From the interrogation report

Khaled Islambouli:

On Friday, October 2, we gathered at Abdel Hamid's apartment to "replay" the operation to assassinate Sadat. The role of the president was played by Ata Tail.

On Sunday, October 4, I visited my sister for the last time, to whom I left my will. I wanted all my savings to be given to poor Muslims. I also left a letter to my parents in which I wrote: I ask you to be lenient with me. I haven't committed a crime. If anything happens to you because of me, please forgive me."

That evening I met Abdel Hamid, who was waiting for me in the car. He was dressed in a soldier's uniform. I had a suitcase with weapons and ammunition.

Ata Tail and Hussein Abbas were waiting for us in the Madinat Nasr area on Ismailia Square in a cafe. We picked them up and went to the parade site.

Three of my comrades had fake IDs as soldiers of the 188th Brigade.

I ordered them to go to the tents in which the soldiers participating in the parade were located.

They entered one of the tents without hindrance. Hussein Abbas introduced himself as my messenger, Abdel Hamid as my driver.

On the afternoon of October 5th, I gathered my subordinates. Three soldiers were sent on leave. The rest were distributed among the vehicles that would pass in a column. I assigned my people to car © 1, which should go in the right rank.

From the indictment

On Tuesday, October 6, at half past two in the morning, Khaled Islambouli woke up Ata Tail, Hussein Abbas and Abdel Hamid and instructed them to fill the “magazines” of the machine guns with cartridges.

At 6:00 he woke up the rest of the soldiers. At 6:30 he seated them in the cars for which he was responsible.

Abdel Hamid, Ata Tail and Hussein Abbas boarded a truck commanded by Khaled Islambouli.

Half an hour after arriving at the waiting area, Khaled Islambouli ordered the soldiers to wash the vehicles and clean the guns. While the soldiers were putting the equipment in order, he quietly handed Abdel Hamid two hand grenades and hid two more under the dashboard. He also replaced the driver's empty machine gun disc with a full one, which he hid under the seat. The driver was absent at the time. Khaled Islambouli sent him to get sandwiches.

From the interrogation report

Car driver:

At the parade, as the truck drove past the podium, Khaled Islambouli pointed a machine gun at my side and said he would shoot me if I didn’t stop the car. I obeyed.

Then he jumped out of the cabin. I saw a grenade in his hands. Then I heard an explosion and shots.

Dark Sudanese

Anwar Sadat was born in the small Egyptian town of Mit Abul Kom. His family was of Sudanese origin, so Anwar Sadat stood out with his dark skin color. Because of this, in one American film dedicated to Sadat, an African-American actor appears in his role.

Sadat's family was very religious, so the boy was sent to an elementary religious school, where the Koran was studied. This upbringing awakened religiosity in Anwar, but later he significantly moved away from it. He received his secondary education in Cairo. Sadat admitted that in his youth he was influenced by four figures:

Zahran is a participant in the Egyptian revolt against colonial British rule;
Ataturk is the first president of the new Turkey to launch large-scale reforms in the country;
Mahatma Gandhi - developer of the theory of nonviolent resistance to social evil;
Hitler - according to Sadat, was the only leader capable of resisting British colonialism.

Collaboration with fascist Italy and Germany is perhaps the main dark spot in Sadat’s career. However, he did this only to free Egypt from British rule.

Military and spy

By the age of 20, Sadat graduated from the military academy and received the rank of lieutenant. During his studies, he was a member of secret officer organizations, the main purpose of which was the same - the liberation of Egypt from British dependence. Sadat then collaborated with German and Italian agents as a spy, but failed and was imprisoned.

He managed to escape from there, after which he remained underground, constantly changing his appearance for security purposes. Also, Sadat at that time was close to G. A. Nasser, including being a member of his Free Officers organization. Having become president, he diverged from the principles of Nasser and his supporters, even subjecting them to repression.

After the coup

After the 1952 coup d'etat, Anwar Sadat made a rapid political career. And in 1970 he assumed the presidency.

Egyptian President

Sadat's presidency was turbulent, filled with events of all kinds and led to mixed results. Seeking to revive Egypt's political and military power, he fought in the Yom Kippur War with Israel, but was defeated. After that, he started peace negotiations with Israel, and after that the leaders of many Arab countries turned their backs on him.

Sadat did not care much about this, since by that time he had fundamentally moved away from the ideology of pan-Arabism, once developed by Nasser. Sadat sought to develop the Egyptian economy and, in particular, promoted the influx of foreign capital. To do this, he carried out liberal reforms in the banking and foreign exchange sectors, and pursued a tax policy beneficial to foreign investors.

The state also pledged to modernize the country's roads and transport system. Liberal reforms in the Western spirit also affected other areas of Egyptian life. This was welcomed by wealthy sections of the population, but did not satisfy the majority of citizens, whose economic situation only worsened. Religious fundamentalists were not satisfied with Sadat’s departure from Islamic principles and his loyal attitude towards the Copts - Egyptian Christians.

"Bread Riots"

Sadat's financial policy required sharp reductions in subsidies for essential goods, primarily food and fuel. The prices of these goods eventually increased. This led to multimillion-dollar demonstrations in January 1977, which became known as the “bread riots.”

The protests were not only economic, but also political in nature, the people expressed their dissatisfaction with the entire Sadat regime. The president, however, did not become like bloody dictators like Assad: under public pressure, they refused to reduce subsidies.

Last years

Thus, Anwar Sadat proved himself to be by no means the best, but quite a liberal and peace-loving leader. However, in recent years, when the opposition began to assert itself too strongly, Sadat introduced restrictions on political activity. Shortly before his death, he launched large-scale repressions against the opposition, including Nasser’s supporters.

The actions of Sadat, who had gone off the rails, led to an attempt on his life. In 1981, the president was assassinated, but the “masterminds” of the murder have not yet been exposed. According to some sources, the conspiracy was organized by American intelligence services, according to others - Soviet, according to others - Egyptian.

Kings and Presidents of Egypt - Anwar El Sadat (es-Sadat)

Mohammed Anwar al-Sadat(December 25, 1918—October 6, 1981) - third president of Egypt, marshal (mushir).

Childhood and youth
Anwar al-Sadat born December 25, 1918 in a large family in the town of Mit Abul Kom north of Cairo. He was one of thirteen children of Mohammed al-Sadat, who served as a clerk in a military hospital, and Sitt el-Barrein. All his relatives were zealous Muslims; Anwar Sadat attended an elementary religious school as a child, where he studied the Koran. In 1925, the family moved to the outskirts of Cairo, where Sadat received his secondary education. By his own admission, in his youth, four people had the greatest influence on his worldview - Zahran, a participant in the anti-colonial riot who was hanged by British troops for the murder of an officer, Kemal Ataturk, who achieved independence for Turkey and initiated large-scale reforms in the country, Mahatma Gandhi, who promoted non-violent resistance to social evil , and Adolf Hitler, in whom young Sadat saw the only world leader capable of resisting British expansion.

How he came to power

In 1938, Sadat graduated from military school and received the rank of lieutenant. In 1940 he joined the secret society "Isaba", created by a group of Egyptian officers. He was also close to the nationalist organizations Misr al-Fatat and the Muslim Brotherhood.

During World War II, Sadat secretly collaborated with agents of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy to liberate the country from British rule. Sadat was repeatedly arrested by the British and accused of collaborating with the Abwehr. At the request of the Germans, he tried to transport a general dismissed from the Egyptian army to Iraq to strengthen anti-British activity. The venture failed and Sadat was arrested. Due to lack of evidence, he was released and began to collaborate with two Nazi agents in Cairo, who handed him over after their arrest. In October 1942, Sadat, convicted by the tribunal, was dismissed from the army and went to prison. Two years later, he went on a hunger strike and was transferred to a prison hospital, from where he managed to escape. Sadat grew a beard and, while in hiding for about a year, constantly changed his appearance, addresses and jobs. In 1946-49 he was again in prison. After his release he was engaged in journalistic activities, and from 1950 he returned to military service.

Participated in the creation of the Free Officers organization led by Nasser.

After the 1952 coup d'etat, he held various government posts. From 1960 to 1968 - Chairman of the National Assembly, from 1964 to 1967 - one of the vice-presidents. Since 1969 the only vice president. After Nasser's death in 1970, he was elected president of Egypt.

As President of Egypt

Almost immediately after coming to power, Sadat began to move away from the policies of Arab nationalism and Arab socialism pursued by Abdel Nasser. After followers of Abdel Nasser's ideas tried to create opposition to the new regime, in May 1971 many people from the former president's entourage were arrested. Sadat abandoned Nasser's pan-Arab claims; in 1971 the state was renamed from the United Arab Republic to the Arab Republic of Egypt (ARE)

Anwar Sadat considered the revival of Egypt, strengthening the country's position on the world stage and revenge for the humiliating defeat in the 1967 war with Israel to be the priority direction of his policy. After several years of unsuccessful negotiations with Israel, at the end of 1972, Sadat began to lean toward a military campaign against Israel. Egypt's decision to go to war with Israel was made by President Anwar Sadat and his Syrian counterpart Hafez Assed in the summer of 1973
After the war, Sadat began to lean towards peace negotiations. After signing the separation of forces agreement, Israel and Egypt signed an interim agreement in which they pledged not to use force, but to resolve the territorial conflict peacefully. In 1977, Anwar Sadat announced his readiness to come to Jerusalem to discuss peace terms with Israel. In November, Sadat's historic visit to Jerusalem took place.

At the invitation of Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, he spoke at the Knesset in Jerusalem, which caused sharp condemnation in the Arab world and in the USSR. Sadat's 5-point plan included, among other things, the creation of an independent Palestinian state. His performance made a stunning impression on the Israelis. A real opportunity has emerged to conclude a peace treaty with the most militarily powerful Arab state. Some time later, Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin made a return visit to Egypt. However, the negotiations were difficult. US President J. Carter decided to invite both parties to his place at Camp David, the place of rest and business meetings of American presidents.

Sadat's visit to Jerusalem in November 1977 and his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin led to the severance of Egypt's diplomatic relations with most Arab countries. However, the Egyptian president considered it more correct for himself to continue peace negotiations with Israel.

In September 1978, at a summit at Camp David chaired by Jimmy Carter, Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin agreed on peace, mutual recognition and the return of the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt. The peace treaty was concluded on March 26, 1979. Israel pledged to withdraw troops and evacuate Jewish settlements from the Sinai Peninsula, which it occupied in 1967. In 1978, Anwar Sadat and Menachem Begin were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for signing the peace agreements.

Domestic policy
Open door policy

In 1974, Sadat began implementing the “open door” (infitah) policy. The attraction of foreign investors was facilitated by a favorable taxation system and government guarantees against the nationalization of private capital. In addition, the government has committed itself to modernizing the country's communications and transport network. To obtain loans, the Egyptian government had to reduce the budget deficit by cutting government subsidies for food and fuel, which meant rising prices for essential goods.

During the implementation of the “open door” policy, the banking and foreign exchange sectors of the economy were liberalized. According to President Anwar Sadat, this was supposed to help attract foreign capital to the country and facilitate the export of Egyptian labor to such major oil-producing Arab countries as Libya and Saudi Arabia. The pace of economic growth accelerated, and the state balance of payments improved. This policy led to the rapid enrichment of individuals and the deterioration of the situation of the bulk of the population. Egypt's economy found itself increasingly tied to the West.

Dissolution of the ACC

In 1975, President Sadat decided to create three political platforms within the Arab Socialist Union (ASU): centrist (ruling majority), left and right. In essence, this signaled the beginning of the creation of a controlled multi-party system in Egypt. In the 1976 elections to the People's Assembly, candidates from Sadat's centrist platform, called the Arab Socialist Party (ASP), won a landslide victory, winning 280 of 352 seats. After the elections, Sadat announced that all three ACC platforms would subsequently be transformed into parties.

Bread riots

In January 1977, the government, under pressure from the International Monetary Fund, decided to halve subsidies on essential goods. On January 18-19, multimillion-dollar demonstrations took place throughout the country. They went down in the history of the country as “bread riots”, but sometimes took on a political character. It was a protest of the people against Sadat's policies. The decision to cut subsidies had to be reversed.

Repression

When the opposition began to criticize the government's economic failures and accuse officials of corruption, Sadat introduced restrictions on political activity in the country. Islamic fundamentalists also showed dissatisfaction, who intensified their activity after Egypt's defeat in the 1967 war. Fundamentalists vehemently rejected the Americanization of the cultural and ideological life of Egypt, and their hostile attitude towards the Coptic Christian minority more than once led to unrest.

Shortly before his death, Sadat began large-scale repression, ordering the arrest of many intellectuals, supporters of Nasser, and representatives of the Islamic and Christian (Coptic) clergy.

Death

In the fall of 1981, the terrorist groups of Islamic fundamentalists Al-Gamaa al-Islamiya (English) and Egyptian Islamic Jihad united and organized a successful assassination attempt on the president, taking revenge on him for rapprochement with Israel and refusal to further “Islamize” society.

A military parade was scheduled for October 6, 1981 in Cairo in honor of the anniversary of the 1973 Arab-Israeli war. The parade began exactly at 11:00 local time. Having received a report from the parade commander, the Egyptian President, accompanied by a group of dignitaries and senior army officers, ascended to the podium for the guests of honor. Anwar Sadat took a central place in the first row on the podium. To his right is Vice President Mubarak, to his left is Minister of War Abu Ghazal. Everything went according to a pre-planned schedule: announcers in two languages - Arabic and English - commented on the progress of the parade.

Towards the end of the parade, at approximately 11:40, an artillery truck, which was moving across the square in a formation of military equipment, suddenly braked. The occupant, Lieutenant Khaled Ahmed al-Islambuli, in paratrooper uniform, jumped from the vehicle and threw a hand grenade towards the podium. It exploded before reaching its target. A few seconds later, five more paratroopers jumped from the truck bed and opened machine-gun fire at the government podium. Panic set in, Anwar Sadat rose from his chair and said: “It can’t be!” Standing motionless, Sadat found himself a target for a sniper: bullets pierced his neck and chest, hitting the pulmonary artery. The Egyptian President was killed 20 seconds after the attack began.

According to another version, Sadat took what was happening as an attempt by the unit to express special devotion to him, since earlier at the same parade the paratroopers who had landed from the air directly on the parade ground had done so, and stood up to salute in response. Sadat was taken to the hospital, where he died. During the resulting shootout, some members of the government and foreign guests present at the parade were killed or wounded - in total, counting the head of state, seven were killed and 28 were wounded.

Sadat's successor was Vice President Hosni Mubarak, who still governs the country, was wounded in the arm during the incident. It is interesting that the state of emergency introduced after the terrorist attack was in effect until March 2010.

After the assassination of Sadat, some Egyptian fighters fled abroad. Three perpetrators of the terrorist attack were captured on the spot, and another three days later. The engineer Mohammed Abdel Salam Farrag, who developed the plan to assassinate A. Sadat, was also arrested. On April 15, 1982, Farrag and two civilian conspirators were hanged, and former soldiers Islambouli and Abbas Ali were shot. The circumstances of the president's assassination are still not entirely clear. The investigation did not establish how, having bypassed careful control, the militants carried weapons and grenades into the truck and why Sadat’s bodyguards left their posts around the podium a few seconds before the attack. According to one version, American intelligence services were behind the terrorist attack, and according to another, Egyptian intelligence services; a version was put forward about the involvement of the KGB.

Subsequently, the militant groups that developed the plan to assassinate Sadat came into contact with Osama bin Laden, and Egyptian Islamic Jihad joined al-Qaeda. In 2003, one of the organizers of Sadat’s assassination, Karam Zohdi, was released from an Egyptian prison. In an interview, he admitted that the decision to assassinate the Egyptian president was wrong.

On October 6, 1981, thirty-five years ago, Egyptian President Marshal Anwar Sadat, one of the most prominent and interesting politicians in the Arab East and the world as a whole at that time, was assassinated. Sadat fell victim to a conspiracy, according to the official version, planned by religious fundamentalists.

On that autumn day, October 6, 1981, a traditional military parade was held in the Egyptian capital of Cairo, which was dedicated to the next anniversary of the 1973 Arab-Israeli War. Let us recall that this armed conflict, which became known as the Yom Kippur War, also began on October 6, 1973 and lasted only 18 days. During this time, the Israeli army was able to inflict serious defeats on the Egyptian and Syrian armed forces, but ultimately, as many historians note, it was this war that marked the beginning of the peace process in the Middle East.

In memory of those events, eight years later, in 1981, a military parade was held. It was attended by the entire political and military leadership of Egypt, including President Marshal Anwar Sadat, Vice President Air Chief Marshal Hosni Mubarak and the country's Minister of Defense and Military Industry Field Marshal Mohamed Abd el-Halim Abu Ghazal. Dignitaries admired the passing columns of Egyptian military units and formations. It is not for nothing that the Egyptian army has traditionally been considered one of the strongest in the Middle East. When five Mirage fighters appeared in the sky, the eyes of both the leaders and most of the guests and participants present at the parade turned to the sky. It was interesting to watch how the Egyptian pilots showed their skills.

At this time, an artillery tractor stopped near the central stand, where President Sadat was located. Nobody paid attention to this. The security officers decided that the tractor had broken down and did not attach any importance to the stop. Meanwhile, a man in the uniform of an airborne troops lieutenant descended from the tractor and threw a grenade towards the podium. There was an explosion. The grenade exploded before reaching its final target. At that moment, the lieutenant opened fire from a machine gun at the podium. At the same moment, several more servicemen jumped out of the tractor, who also opened fire on the people on the stand and began throwing grenades towards the stand. There was still one more soldier in the tractor itself, who was conducting aimed fire at President Anwar Sadat. This was the best shooter of the Egyptian army, the champion of the armed forces in shooting, sniper Hussein Abbas Ali.

Marshal Sadat, dressed in a bright ceremonial uniform, was an excellent target for a sniper. As eyewitnesses of the incident later reported, the president, when the shooting began, mechanically stood up from the podium. Most likely, he thought that the paratroopers were showing their skills in a staged battle and decided to greet his brave subordinates. As it turned out, it was in vain. Although the paratroopers acted really masterfully. It was all over in less than a minute. Forty seconds after the start of the shelling, Anwar Sadat was already lying, riddled with bullets. Six more people on the stand were killed, and about thirty people were injured. Sadat's closest ally, Hosni Mubarak, was also wounded. The paratroopers who shot the stand ran up to it, checked that Sadat was dead, and quickly retreated from the scene. Anwar Sadat was taken to a military hospital by helicopter. But the president died without regaining consciousness. The life of an influential Arab politician was interrupted at the age of 63.

The assassination of Sadat was a huge failure for the Egyptian intelligence services. However, they tried to quickly rehabilitate themselves. Three participants in the attempt were captured right at the scene of the crime, and three more people were arrested a few days later. As it turned out, the direct perpetrator and leader of the assassination of Anwar Sadat was 24-year-old senior lieutenant Khaled Ahmed Shawki al-Islambuli, who commanded an artillery installation. He managed to involve three soldiers in the conspiracy. But the other three soldiers serving the installation were not “in the know” about the conspiracy. Therefore, Khaled al-Islambuli took a very dangerous but effective move. He sent three “uninitiated” soldiers on leave, and in their place he took three civilians who were aware of the conspiracy. They were registered as reservists called up for military service, received uniforms and... The names of other participants in the assassination attempt were also published. They were 28-year-old reserve air defense officer Abdel Hamid Abdel Ali, 26-year-old senior lieutenant of the reserve engineering forces Ata Tail, 27-year-old active duty sergeant Hussein Abbas Mohammed. It turned out that the assassination plan was developed by 30-year-old electrical engineer Mohammed Abdel Salam Farrag, who was part of one of the religious fundamentalist organizations - Al-Jihad.

The investigation put forward the official version of what happened - Marshal Anwar Sadat became the victim of a conspiracy of religious extremists who were dissatisfied with his course towards the secular development of Egypt, cooperation with the West and refusal of further confrontation with Israel. According to the official version, the perpetrators of the assassination attempt sympathized with the underground fundamentalist organization “At Takfir wal-Hijra” (“Accusation of unbelief and departure”). This movement was created in the early 1970s in Egypt by agronomist Shukri Mustafa (1942-1978). Deciding that modern Egyptian society did not correspond to the canons of Islam, Shukri Mustafa and his followers left society in 1973, moving to sparsely populated areas of Egypt. Initially, the followers of Shukri Mustafa were a peaceful organization, but the harsh policy of the government, which sought to neutralize any religious fundamentalist organizations as a source of potential danger to the existing system, led to the radicalization of takfiris.

In 1977, the Takfiris took hostage the Egyptian political and religious figure Sheikh Muhammad al-Dahabi, the former Minister of Religious Affairs, and killed him in protest against the repressive policies of the Sadat regime. This became one of the first illegal actions of the movement. The sheikh was close to President Anwar Sadat, so the authorities could not forgive the fundamentalists for this murder.

Also in 1977, Egyptian intelligence services arrested Shukri Mustafa, and the following year, 1978, he was executed. However, his ideas took root in large parts of Egyptian society. This was also facilitated by the economic difficulties experienced by Egypt. Anwar Sadat was forced to cancel additional benefits for the Egyptian poor, which caused discontent among the broad masses of the population. Since religious fundamentalism in Arab countries plays the role of left-wing radicalism in Europe, many people dissatisfied with Sadat’s policies switched to the position of religious fundamentalism and began to subject the government to harsh criticism - primarily for its departure from the principles of Islam.

A version was put forward about the involvement of two of the most radical Egyptian fundamentalist organizations in the assassination attempt on Sadat - Al-Gamaa al-Islamiyya (Islamic Jamaat) and Egyptian Islamic Jihad. It is interesting that at a certain period Anwar Sadat treated religious fundamentalists quite leniently. He saw them as natural allies in the confrontation with the Nasserists (Arab secular socialist nationalists) and Marxists. The Egyptian authorities were quite neutral about the activities of the same Al-Gamaa al-Islamiyya, which appeared in 1975 as a result of the unification of several student jamaats - Asyut, Cairo and Alexandria universities, Ain Shams University and Al-Azhar University. Student jamaats advocated the Islamization of the way of life of Egyptian youth, which, in their opinion, included not only adherence to the rules of Sharia, but also the liberation of the youth environment from the influence of left-wing atheistic worldviews. One of the centers of activity of this organization was Asyut, whose governor, Muhammad Usman Ismail, strongly supported the religious fundamentalists, considering them the most consistent opponents of the Egyptian communist movement. However, after the fundamentalists intensified their activities and began to pose a serious threat to power, Sadat changed his policy towards religious and political organizations. Their activists began to be persecuted, which, in turn, contributed to the increasing radicalization of the religious environment, especially its youth. In response, a plot arose among young radicals. Under the leadership of engineer Farrag, who developed the plan to assassinate the president, the Al-Jihad al-Jadid organization arose, which sentenced Sadat to death.

The official version of Sadat's assassination solely as a result of a conspiracy of religious fundamentalists is not the only one. Over the past thirty-odd years, materials have repeatedly appeared in world historical literature and the press casting doubt on this version. In particular, despite the fact that Lieutenant Islambuli and his accomplices really belonged to one of the radical organizations, they could have been a “blind instrument” in the hands of more serious forces interested in the liquidation of Anwar Sadat. Sadat was treated coolly in the Arab world. He made many enemies for himself, which was primarily due to the consequences of the Yom Kippur War. In 1977, Anwar Sadat announced that he was ready to come to Jerusalem and discuss peace terms with the Israeli leadership. In November 1977, he actually arrived in Israel, where he spoke in the Knesset. In response, Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin came to Egypt. Sadat's visit to Israel entailed a very big blow to Egypt's image in the Arab world. Most Arab countries broke off diplomatic relations with Egypt, thereby trying to put pressure on Sadat. But the Egyptian president did not change his position, which earned him the label of “traitor” from Arab radicals. By the way, it was the word “Traitor” that was repeated from the speaker of the artillery tractor during the attempt on Sadat’s life.

When the Camp David Accords were concluded, for which Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1978, hatred of Sadat increased even more among Arab nationalists. After the assassination of Anwar Sadat, a huge number of political figures from all over the world came to his funeral. However, the Arab states pointedly ignored this event. The only Arab leader to attend Sadat's funeral was Sudanese President Jafar Nimeiry. Of the 24 countries that were members of the Arab League at that time, only three countries sent their representatives to the funeral. This is how the Arab East showed its negative attitude towards the political figure of the Egyptian president. It is possible that the terrorists who organized the assassination of Sadat could have had the support of the intelligence services of one of the countries in the Arab world that were dissatisfied with Sadat’s policies and interested in resuming the confrontation between Egypt and Israel.

A week after the assassination of Sadat, on October 14, 1981, Vice President Hosni Mubarak was proclaimed president of Egypt. During the terrorist attack at the parade, he was also injured, wounded in the arm. Hosni Mubarak, like Sadat, was a professional soldier. Back in 1973, pilot Mubarak, by that time commander of the Egyptian Air Force, was awarded the highest rank of air chief marshal in the Egyptian Air Force. Immediately after coming to power, Mubarak began to pursue tough policies aimed at suppressing opponents. On April 15, 1982, the participants in the assassination attempt on Sadat were executed. Senior Lieutenant Khaled Islambouli (pictured behind bars, at trial) and another military man, Abbas Ali, were shot, and three civilian conspirators, including engineer Mohamed Abdel Salam Farrag, were hanged. One of the organizers of the assassination attempt, Karam Zohdi, was sentenced to life imprisonment.

However, Mubarak, having dealt with the assassins, did not ignore Sadat’s inner circle. Several people who were part of the slain president's "inner circle" were prosecuted on corruption charges. This is how Mubarak demonstrated his power and emphasized that iron order would be established in the country. Naturally, Mubarak's political course was not to the liking of the radical organizations operating in Egypt. President Mubarak was also sentenced to death, assassination attempts were organized six times, but he turned out to be much more successful than his predecessor as head of state. Only large-scale popular protests during the Arab Spring of 2011 forced Mubarak to leave his post. But the former Egyptian president, despite his advanced age (he is 88 years old), is still alive.

Hosni Mubarak and Anwar Sadat

Some researchers are inclined to argue that senior figures in the Egyptian leadership could have been involved in the assassination of Sadat, right up to Vice President Mubarak himself, who survived and led the country for many thirty years. At the very least, the ease with which the conspirators were able to deal with the president is very suspicious. After all, Senior Lieutenant Islambuli actually arbitrarily replaced the crew of an artillery installation, and even one going on a parade, with civilians - it turns out that the senior officers either did not check this or allowed him to do it. The conspirators turned out to have military weapons, although only security officers guarding the president and other high-ranking officials had the right to carry military weapons at the parade. In any case, we are talking about either deliberate connivance with terrorists, or the blatant negligence of the Egyptian intelligence services, who failed not only to uncover the conspiracy, but also to exclude the possibility of strangers and armed people infiltrating the parade, where the head of state was present.

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