Ashraf Marwan
This article's tone or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used on Wikipedia. (September 2022) |
Ashraf Marwan | |
---|---|
أشرف مروان | |
Born | Mohamed Ashraf Abu El Wafa Marwan 2 February 1944 Cairo, Egypt |
Died | 27 June 2007 London, England | (aged 63)
Occupation(s) | Diplomat and Businessman |
Known for | Alerting Israel in 1973 war.[1] |
Spouse | Mona Gamal Abdel Nasser |
Children | 2 |
Ashraf Marwan (
Egyptian officials claim he was a double agent who also worked for them.[2]
From 1969, Marwan worked at the Presidential Office, first under
Early life and education
Marwan was born in Egypt on 2 February 1944. His grandfather was the chief of the
In 1968 Marwan started working in the Presidential Office under Sami Sharaf, Nasser's aide-de-camp and the strongman of the Egyptian security service, who kept an eye on him. In late 1968, Marwan, Mona, and their new-born son, Gamal, left for London, allegedly for the continuation of Marwan's studies. A few months later, Nasser, who was irritated by information concerning their lavish lifestyle, ordered the young couple to return to Egypt, where Marwan continued working under Sami Sharaf.[7]
Career
Marwan's service at the Presidential Office lasted eight years (1968–1976). Although he only held a junior position under Nasser, the president occasionally used him for sensitive missions, such as calming the crisis that erupted after the resignation of General
Lead up to the 1973 Arab–Israeli War
Egypt had begun preparing a war with the aim of retaking the Sinai Peninsula, which it had lost to Israel during the
The information that Marwan provided made its way to the desks of Israeli Prime Minister
The 1973 Arab–Israeli War
In April 1973, Marwan persuaded the Mossad that Egypt planned to attack in mid-May.[1] Consequently, Israel raised its state-of-military readiness, but the war did not come. In October, he persuaded the Mossad of another plan to attack by deliberately feeding them misleading information. Eli Zeira, Director of Aman and Israel's military intelligence during the 1973 Arab-Israeli War, said that the Israeli Agranat Commission, which investigated Israeli leaders for the reasons behind their failure in the war, said that Marwan, who was known by many nicknames, conveyed misleading information to Israel, under the direction of Egyptian president Anwar Sadat, to earn their trust.[1] According to the Israeli Agranat Commission, "The Concept" states that "Egypt will only attack, if the war is carried out in partnership with Syria, with modern aircraft and other weapons that guarantee Egyptian superiority over the Israeli air force." "How can such a senior Egyptian official come to the Israeli embassy in London in broad daylight, while he and his leaders know that this embassy, like other Israeli embassies abroad, is being monitored by dozens of intelligence agencies around the world?" Zeira questioned.[1]
In autumn 1973, Sadat decided to launch a war without waiting for the arms that had been his precondition, and Egypt accelerated its war preparations. Marwan reported on Sadat's decision and the military preparations for war but expressed his opinion that, ultimately, Egypt would be deterred from militarily challenging Israel. Israeli military intelligence leaders, including Eli Zeira, due to the May false alarm, refused to accept the evidence of numerous warnings and indicators that the Arabs planned to attack. Accordingly, Israel was caught by surprise in the 1973 Arab-Israeli War.[12]
Postwar
In an interview, Marwan's son, Gamal Marwan, stated that Israel became aware that Marwan misled them, causing their biggest loss in terms of deaths, casualties and weapons, since 1948.[14] According to the White House military briefing and The Yom Kippur War by Abraham Rabinovich, Israeli casualties were 2,800 dead, 8,800 wounded and 293 captured.[1]
Secretary to the President of the Republic for Foreign Relations
On 14 February 1974, Marwan became Secretary to the President of the Republic for Foreign Relations,[15] a new position that reflected Sadat's ruling style. Given Sadat's dissatisfaction with the conduct of his foreign minister, Ismail Fahmy, Marwan was considered as a candidate to replace him.[6]: 245–246
By that stage, however, Marwan had accumulated a considerable number of personal enemies, who accused him of using his closeness to Sadat to gain personal wealth. When the accusations gained momentum, Sadat had to yield to the pressure and, in March 1976, ended Marwan's service in the Presidential Office.[16][17]
Arab Organization for Industrialization
Marwan was nominated to head the Arab Organization for Industrialization, an arms production complex in Cairo that was financed by Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar. Following additional political pressures, Sadat had to relieve him from that position in October 1978.[18]
Business
Following Sadat's assassination in October 1981, Marwan left Egypt and started a business career in London. He gained a reputation as a mysterious man, who did not play according to the rules of the City. He was involved in the failed attempt by Tiny Rowland to take over the House of Fraser, a group of department stores, whose jewel in the crown was Harrods, where the English aristocracy used to shop. Marwan amassed significant wealth, the source of which has never been disclosed. [citation needed]
In 1995, during a dispute for control of
, it was revealed in the media that Marwan owned 1.5 million shares at the club.In 2000, Marwan had opened a Credit Suisse bank account, even though he clearly was a
Marwan worked closely with the Egyptian intelligence who implanted Marwan as a double agent using a traditional Russian tactic in which the agent feeds his victim with 95 percent of accurate information and at the critical moment, conveys the false data.[1] Yuri Bar Yosef, Professor of Political Science at the University of Haifa published a book, which was produced into a movie, entitled "The Angel." The book confirmed that Marwan was a double agent who collected information for Israel, but was formerly working for Egypt.[1] In 2022 Liwa Mohammed Rashad, equivalent to major general, in Western terms, disputed the claim that Marwan was a double agent. [21]
Some Israeli officials refused to accept the fact that he was playing the Mossad into his hands and claim that Marwan worked for the Mossad only, however, some evidence is to the contrary of this claim.[10][22] An Israeli author in 2002 was one of those false claims Ahron Bregman. However, Eli Zeira, the director of Israel's Military Intelligence in 1973, said that the Israeli Agranat Commission, which investigated Israeli leaders for the reasons behind their failure in the war, said that Marwan conveyed accurate information to Israeli intelligence only to deceive them and earn their trust.[1] Some believe Zeira, was acting out of jealousy for his failed role to take Marwan's allegation seriously. Marwan reported to the Mossad that Israel would be attacked. Zeira ignored the warnings and later claimed the timing of the attack was incorrect. Nonetheless Israel was attacked as Marwan stated.
Personal life and death
Marwan married Mona Abdel Nasser in the 1960s. One of Marwan's sons was married to the daughter of former Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa. His son, Gamal, is a close friend of Gamal Mubarak, the son of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.[6]: 322
Marwan died on 27 June 2007 outside his flat in
Marwan is the fourth Egyptian of note to die in London in a similar manner.
At the time of the investigation, Marwan's wife said she believed that Mossad was behind his death.[27] However, an analysis in The Guardian found this scenario to be unlikely: "For one thing, killing a former agent after his name is revealed would seem to be a major disincentive for new recruits. Even if Israel believed that Marwan was a double agent, working for the Egyptians, better to do nothing and, through their silence, imply he was faithful to their cause."[28] Further, Marwan was at least the third Egyptian living in London to die under similar circumstances, all of whom had ties with the Egyptian security services.[28]
Egyptian journalist
The British magazine Private Eye also followed the story closely and suggested that there was considerable cause for suspicion surrounding the circumstances of Marwan's death.
Legacy
Ahron Bregman published in 2016 a book on his relationship with Marwan called The Spy Who Fell to Earth. In 2017, Salon Productions purchased the rights to turn the book into a feature documentary.[29] This feature documentary, also entitled The Spy Who Fell to Earth, was directed by Thomas Meadmore and released by Netflix in 2019.
Professor
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Refaat, Taarek (7 October 2018). "Ashraf Marwan; Protagonist Who Misled Israel". Sada el balad.
- Times of Israel. Archivedfrom the original on 27 July 2012.
- ^ Syal, Rajeev (29 June 2007). "'Egyptian spy' could not have killed himself, say friends". The Times.
- ^ Thawrat, Muhammad (2008). Ashraf Marwan: Fact and Illusion. Madbuli. pp. 19–20.
- ^ The Opportunist: "The Bright Side of the Moon. Egyptian Chronicles, 28 June 2007.
- ^ a b c d Bar-Joseph, Uri. The Angel: The Egyptian Spy Who Saved Israel. p. 15.
- ^ Halef al-Tawil, Kamal (7 February 2007). Ashraf Marwan: The Dilemma Child. Al-Akhbar al-Lebnaniya.
- ^ el Shazly, Saad (2003). The Crossing of the Suez. San Francisco: American Mideast Research. pp. 184–185.
- ^ "Milestones: 1969–1976 - Office of the Historian". history.state.gov.
- ^ a b c d e f برنامج اختراق - من قتل أشرف مروان الجزء الثالث | مع د.عمرو الليثي. عمرو الليثى - Amr Ellissy. 11 October 2016. Archived from the original on 23 April 2021. Retrieved 29 August 2021 – via YouTube.
- ^ "The Truth About the 1973 Oil Crisis". The Balance.
- ^ a b "المقالات | الموقع الرسمي للإعلامي عمرو الليثي اقسام الفيديوهات | الموقع الرسمي للإعلامي عمرو الليثي".
- ISBN 9780394531366.
- ^ برنامج اختراق - من قتل أشرف مروان الجزء الأول - د.عمرو الليثي. عمرو الليثى - Amr Ellissy. 11 October 2016. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 29 August 2021 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Al Ahram". 15 February 1974.
- ^ Jamaa, Mohamed (1988). I Knew Sadat: Half a Century of Secrets About Sadat and the [Muslim] Brotherhood. Cairo.
- ^ Sabri, Musa (1985). Sadat: The Truth and the Legend. Cairo: Al-Maktab al-Masry al-Hadeth. pp. 651–662.
- ^ "Al Ahram". 13 October 1978.
- ^ News of the World, 26 November 1995
- ^ "Bank of Spies: Credit Suisse Catered to Global Intelligence Figures". NDR,OCCRP, Daraj, Süddeutsche Zeitung. 21 February 2022. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
- ^ "Top Mossad Spy Wasn't Double Agent, Egyptian Spymaster Admits" – via Haaretz.
- ^ "Mossad agents murdered my husband, says widow of billionaire arms dealer". The Guardian. 10 July 2010.
- ISBN 9780415569200.
- ISBN 9781682470299.
- ^ a b Goudsouzian, Tanya (1 June 2014). "Death by balcony in Egypt". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
- Blogspot. 21 May 2010. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
- ^ Syal, Rajeev (10 July 2010). "Mossad agents murdered my husband, says widow of billionaire arms dealer". The Guardian.
She believes he was killed by the Mossad, Israel's intelligence agency,
- ^ a b Parkin, Simon (15 September 2015). "Who killed the 20th century's greatest spy?". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 6 March 2018.
- ^ White, Peter (4 December 2017). "Salon Pictures Sets Up Israeli Spy Feature Doc With Kew Media Group". Deadline. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
- ^ Coffey, Thomas G. (6 March 2017). "Review: The Angel: The Egyptian Spy Who Saved Israel". Central Intelligence Agency Library. Intelligence in Public Media. Archived from the original on 7 March 2017.