SADAT NEPHEW STRIPPED OF PARLIAMENTARY IMMUNITY,

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CAIRO 006294 SIPDIS SIPDIS NSC FOR RICK WATERS E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/09/2016 TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM EG SUBJECT: SADAT NEPHEW STRIPPED OF PARLIAMENTARY IMMUNITY, FACING MILITARY TRIBUNAL REF: CAIRO 4196 Classified By: Minister Counselor for Economic and Political Affairs William R. Stewart, for reasons 1.5 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary: Controversial independent parliamentarian Talaat Sadat (nephew of the late president) has publicly alleged that high-ranking military personnel, as well as then Vice-President Hosni Mubarak, were behind the 1981 assassination of President Anwar El Sadat. Talaat was subsequently charged with "spreading false rumors and insulting the Armed Forces," had his parliamentary immunity revoked, and will appear before a military court October 11. Despite the various conspiracy theories surrounding the killing of the late President (akin to the Kennedy assassination for Americans),Talaat clearly crossed a redline with his public naming of Mubarak, and he is likely to pay dearly for his outspokenness. End Summary. -------------- -------------- TALAAT SADAT ACCUSES MUBARAK IN A SERIES OF MEDIA APPEARANCES -------------- -------------- ¶2. (SBU) In a series of media appearances leading up to the twenty-fifth anniversary of President Anwar El Sadat's assassination, Talaat El Sadat (the late president's nephew, and an independent parliamentarian known for flamboyant publicity stunts) accused high-ranking leaders of the Egyptian armed forces of masterminding a "conspiracy" resulting in his uncle's death. (Note: President Anwar El Sadat was assassinated on October 6, 1981, by an Islamist militant during a military parade in Cairo commemorating the 1973 war against Israel. End note). ¶3. (SBU) Talaat reportedly told Deutsche Presse-Agentur, "What happened on October 6, 1981 was a limited military coup conducted by the Vice President, Hosni Mubarak, Minister of Defense Colonel Abu Ghazala and their co-conspirators ... they started hammering nails in the coffin of Sadat by killing Ahmed Badawy, the minister of defense, and the 14 heads of the Egyptian army branches in a highly controversial and questionable helicopter crash in March 1981 ... the masterminds then replaced the slain officers with officers loyal to Mubarak that would help with the coup." Talaat also alleged that in early October 1981, President Sadat had planned to relieve Mubarak of the vice-presidency, implying Mubarak was not trusted by the late President. He also maintained that the U.S., Israel, Jordan, and other countries desired to "get rid" of President Sadat as well, and called for a UN investigation similar to that undertaken in the assassination of former Lebanese PM Rafiq al Hariri. ¶4. (SBU) Talaat made similar remarks on the popular Egyptian interview shows, "Cairo Today" and "Sorry for the Disturbance." In his October 2 "Cairo Today" appearance, in a show segment titled "Who Killed Sadat?" with guests including Talaat and former presidential bodyguards, the show's host Amre Adib, intensely questioned Sadat - "Who killed the President? Who killed Sadat?" - to which Talaat El Sadat replied, "Mubarak and (then Interior Minister) Al Nabawi Ismail." -------------- THE FALLOUT -------------- ¶5. (SBU) On October 5, the Military Prosecutor-General charged Talaat with "spreading false rumors and insulting the Armed Forces," and referred the case to a military court. Speaker of the People's Assembly Fathi Surour, at the request of the Military Prosecutor-General, revoked Talaat's parliamentary immunity on October 6. Talaat will appear before a military tribunal on October 11. "Cairo Today" host Amre Adib was ordered to appear before the Military Prosecutor-General on October 6; he expects to receive a 5-month suspended sentence for his role in the show's proceedings. Reportedly, the "Sorry for the Disturbance" show has been suspended from broadcasting since Talaat's appearance as a guest. ¶6. (SBU) Other Sadat family members have distanced themselves from Talaat El Sadat's comments. An October 6 statement signed by Gamal Sadat (the late president's son) noted that, "Talaat El Sadat speaks for himself, and does not represent the whole family ... He is not authorized to speak about the history of the president." Talaat El Sadat subsequently told the press that as an "ordinary citizen," he demands to know the truth about what happened to "his president," and alleged CAIRO 00006294 002 OF 002 Gamal El Sadat was "paid for his silence" with a 5-percent share of the profits from the third mobile company sale. (Note: On October 10, the UAE's Etisalat announced the board members of Etisalat-Egypt, the third mobile company; Gamal El Sadat is on the board, and will likely serve as Chairman of the UAE-owned mobile operator. End note). -------------- SADAT DEFIANT -------------- ¶7. (SBU) Talaat told the press October 9 he would "not go down without a fight," and that, "I do not see anything wrong with saying that an investigation should be jump-started into the Sadat assassination." Talaat commented to the English-language daily "The Daily Star" he is "surprised" by the "exceptional decision" to try him before a military court - "it is clear that issuing such an exceptional decision guarantees that the trial goes in the direction they (the GOE) want." Talaat also asserted that, "the ruling regime has a lot against me ... they're opening the way to Gamal Mubarak by removing potential opposition. That is why they are getting rid of me and my likes." Talaat told "The Daily Star" he has heard rumors that he will be given a three-year prison term. -------------- LONGTIME IRRITANT FOR THE REGIME -------------- ¶8. (C) Flamboyant, controversial, and an outspoken critic of the ruling National Democratic Party, Talaat has long been a minor thorn in the GOE's side. In a move virtually unprecedented by an independent or opposition politician, Sadat announced a week ago (prior to the current brouhaha) that he would run against Parliamentary Speaker Fathi Surour for his position when Parliament opens in November. As reported reftel, Talaat filed a petition with the Presidential Palace in June, signed by 109 parliamentarians, requesting President Mubarak grant Ayman Nour amnesty. Talaat has repeatedly criticized influential NDP parliamentarian and Gamal Mubarak crony Ahmed Ezz, including an infamous event last May, when Talaat brandished his shoe at Ezz (a particularly insulting gesture in Egypt) during a session of Parliament. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶9. (C) The Sadat assassination's place in Egyptian history is somewhat analogous to that of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy for Americans. Conspiracy theories abound as to why Sadat's bodyguards allegedly did not actively move to protect him during the assassination, how the assassin was supposedly banned from army service for three years but then mysteriously accepted into the military, how Sadat was allegedly warned of the plot beforehand but was urged not to take it seriously, why then VP Mubarak escaped unscathed despite being seated near Sadat, that Sadat planned to remove Mubarak as Vice-President, and thus the assassination was a coup to bring Mubarak to power, and more. While many Egyptians believe there are unanswered questions surrounding the assassination, Talaat Sadat's sweeping accusations do not appear to be resonating; Talaat clearly crossed a redline by naming President Mubarak as being behind the assassination, and is likely to pay dearly for his outspokenness. JONES