Solved case · 1981
Also known as Anwar Sadat's death · Anwar Sadat assassination
Anwar SadatCredit: Official presidential portrait (Egyptian Presidency)Public domainSourceThe short answer
On 6 October 1981, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat was shot and killed by members of Egyptian Islamic Jihad during a military parade in Cairo commemorating the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Ten others died and 28 were wounded. The lead assassin and four co-conspirators were tried, convicted, and executed in 1982.
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Egypt President Anwar Sadat’s only ever interview with Australian journalist | 60 Minutes Australia
60 Minutes AustraliaVideo · YouTube · 3 min · 2018Titles and descriptions are the creators’ own and may not reflect current legal status. The sourced facts are in the file below. Players load only when you press play. Suggest coverage we’re missing.
On 6 October 1981, Anwar Sadat, President of Egypt, was assassinated during the annual victory parade in Cairo held to commemorate the eighth anniversary of Egypt's crossing of the Suez Canal in the Yom Kippur War. The attack was carried out by members of Egyptian Islamic Jihad, an Islamist militant group. While motives have been debated by historians, the assassination is widely attributed to opposition among Islamic nationalists, anti-imperialists, and pro-Palestinian groups to Sadat's peace initiative with Israel and the United States under the Camp David Accords.
The 1979 Egypt–Israel Peace Treaty was highly controversial in the Arab world; Egypt's Arab League membership was suspended until 1989. Egyptian Islamist groups, including Egyptian Islamic Jihad and al-Jama'a al-Islamiyya, felt betrayed by Sadat and called for his overthrow and the establishment of an Islamic theocracy. Following a failed military coup in June 1981, Sadat ordered a crackdown that in September 1981 saw more than 1,500 people arrested, including Islamic Jihad members, Coptic clergy, and other activists. This roundup missed the military cell led by Lieutenant Khalid Al-Islambuli, which went on to carry out the assassination. The overall plot was led by Muhammad Abd al-Salam Faraj, a civilian engineer and Islamic Jihad member; an alternative account attributes planning to a different group, al-Jama'a al-Islamiyya.
During the parade, as Egyptian Air Force jets flew overhead as a distraction, a truck in the procession carrying the assassination squad stopped near the reviewing stand. Al-Islambuli approached Sadat, who reportedly believed the men were part of the ceremonial display, and threw grenades before he and other assassins opened fire into the stands. The attack lasted about two minutes. Sadat and ten others were killed, including senior military officers, a presidential photographer, foreign dignitaries, and a Coptic Orthodox bishop. Twenty-eight others were wounded, including then–Vice President Hosni Mubarak. Sadat died approximately two hours later at a military hospital from internal bleeding and shock.
An associated insurrection occurred in Asyut, where rebels briefly held security headquarters before being suppressed, with six attackers and 68 security personnel killed. Reactions across the Islamic world were often approving of the assassination, reflecting anger over the peace treaty with Israel. Hosni Mubarak was sworn in as president on 14 October 1981 and would remain in office until 2011. Sadat's funeral drew numerous world leaders, including three former U.S. presidents and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin.
By April 1982, 19 people were tried for the assassination; 17 were jailed and two acquitted. Five defendants, including Al-Islambuli and plot leader Muhammad Abd al-Salam Faraj, were sentenced to death and executed on 15 April 1982.
Egypt and Israel sign a peace treaty, provoking widespread anger among Arab nations and Egyptian Islamist groups.
Egyptian authorities learn of Islamic Jihad's plans after arresting an operative carrying key information.
A failed military coup prompts Sadat to order a major crackdown on opposition figures.
Sadat orders a roundup of more than 1,500 people, including Islamic Jihad members and Coptic clergy; the assassination cell is not discovered.
Anwar Sadat is shot and fatally wounded during a military parade in Cairo; ten others are killed and 28 wounded.
Vice President Hosni Mubarak is sworn in as President of Egypt.
Nineteen people are tried for the assassination; 17 are jailed and two acquitted.
Khalid Al-Islambuli, Muhammad Abd al-Salam Faraj, and three others are executed for the assassination.
Victims first. Every legal label is set from public records and court outcomes, not from the prose.
Coptic Orthodox bishop killed in the attack[3]
President of Egypt, killed in the attack[3]
Major General killed in the attack[3]
General from the Omani delegation, killed in the attack[3]
Presidential photographer killed in the attack[3]
Killed in the attack[3]
Engineer killed in the attack[3]
Chinese military-affiliated aerospace engineer killed in the attack[3]
Civilian member of the assassination squad; convicted and executed on 15 April 1982[3]
Civilian member of the assassination squad; convicted and executed on 15 April 1982[3]
Sergeant and member of the assassination squad; convicted and executed on 15 April 1982[3]
Lieutenant who led the assassination squad; convicted and executed on 15 April 1982[3]
Civilian engineer and Egyptian Islamic Jihad member who led the assassination plot; convicted and executed on 15 April 1982[3]
Vice President of Egypt, wounded in the attack; sworn in as President on 14 October 1981[3]
From the record
Coverage is not a source: every fact in this file rests on the records below.
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