Egyptian 'spy for Israel' found dead outside London flat, page 1

Egyptian 'spy for Israel' found dead outside London flat

www.guardian.co.uk

Ashraf Marwan, the son-in-law of the former Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser and a suspected spy for Israel, has been found dead outside his central London flat in "unexplained" circumstances.

The well-connected financier is believed to have fallen from a fourth-floor balcony in Carlton House Terrace overlooking St James's Park.

A spokesman for Scotland Yard could not confirm the man's name but said: "The death is being treated as unexplained."

The name of the agent, Ashraf Marwan, was leaked a few years ago. He was a son-in-law of Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser and a confidante of President Anwar Sadat. In 1969 he walked into the Israeli Embassy in London and volunteered to furnish information. The offer was turned down. Some time later, he again offered his services, and after a thorough inquiry, it was decided to recruit him. His handler was D., a case officer in the Mossad. The two developed an especially close relationship. At one point, when D. was about to be replaced, Marwan demanded that he continue to serve as his liaison. D. stayed on as the handler, which among other things killed his chances for promotion.

Marwan is considered the highest-ranking agent who was then in the employ of the intelligence community, and his work was highly compartmentalized. His information was considered particularly credible, even after it was cross-referenced with data from other sources. Among other things, he provided two warnings of Sadat's intent to go to war against Israel.
This looks to me like an old score being settled.

www.guardian.co.uk
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Article is more than 48 hours old... Moved to OCE.

[edit on 30/6/2007 by Mirthful Me]