ABC NEWS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00552R000605720004-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 27, 2010
• Sequence Number: 4
• Publication Date: October 21, 1982
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

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[commercial break[
DOWNS: Last week we told you about the read union field killer, Gregory Powell. convicted
of murdering a Los Angeles policeman back in 1%3. Well. the prospect of his release on parole
after 20 years in prison created a public outcry. And this morning his parole was once again
denied, and he must spend at least one more rear behind bars before he can be considered
again.
Well, that's 20/20 for tonight. We're in touch. so %ou be in touch. I'm Hugh Downs. Good
night.
ABC NEWS
7 West 66th Street. New York, N.Y. 10023
Transcripts: Box 2020, Ansonia Station, New York, N.Y. 10023
Press contact: Gail Freedman [phone]
Audience Relations: [phone]
20/0
October 21, 1982
STAT
AV WESTIN .................... Vice President & Executive Producer
HUGH DOWNS ........................................... Host
"A Moment of Crisis"
ELLEN ROSSEN ....................................... Producer
TOM JARRIEL .................................... Correspondent
"Barbara Mandrell"
DENNIS S. OSIK ....................................... Producer
STEVE FOX ...................................... Correspondent
Louise Mandrell courtesy of Jim Owens Entertainment
Multimedia Program Prods.
Special thanks to the Mount Pisgath Methodist Church Choir
Additional video courtesy of Country Music Association Awards 1981
"A Gift of Life"
JOE PFIFFERLING ..................................... Producer
BOB BROWN ..................................... Correspondent
Special thanks to KBTV-Denver. WTAE-Pittsburgh
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Copyright C 1982 by American Broadcasting Companies. Inc.
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October 21, 1982
HUGH DOWNS: Good evening. I'm Hugh Downs. And this is 20/20.
ANNOUNCER: On the ABC Newsmagazine, 20/20, tonight:
The inside story of the ruthless plot to kill Anwar Sadat.
"KHALED ISLAMBOULU": I would do anything to get rid of this oppressive ruler.
"HUSSEIN ABBAS": I fired some shots from the top of the truck.
"ABDEL HAMID": I raised my rifle and shot the President.
ANNOUNCER: A dramatic reconstruction of the assassination of Egypt's president. told in
the words of his killers. Tom Jarriel relives the assassination of Anwar Sadat. an historic
tragedy a year ago, in "A Moment of Crisis."
Barbara Mandrel) - she sings of lust and sin, but she lives a life of faith and family. Her
special drive has taken her to the top in the world of country music. Steve Fox with the story of
Barbara Mandrell.
MARIE CLARK: To know that we have improved lives of other people. I mean, that-
that is a good feeling.
ANNOUNCER: Liver transplants to save the lives of thousands of people across the country,
most of them children. Now, more transplants, advanced surgery and higher survival rates
through new drugs. Bob Brown with a medical story of hope: "A Gift of Life."
DOWNS: Up front tonight, the assassination of Egypt's President Anwar Sadat, and the
extraordinary inside story from the killers. The assassination occurred a year ago; five men
were executed for their part in the crime, and at the time questions were raised about these men
and their motives. Well, now, 20/20 has obtained a remarkable set of documents that help
answer some of the questions. They are the record of the interrogations by the Egyptian
prosecutors of the conspirators.
To explain the story of the five main conspirators, we're using a different concept on 20/20.
The five assassins will be portrayed by actors, but the words they will speak are the actual
words of the assassins. You're going to see the five conspirators on the left side of your
television screen, and the actors who portray each of them on the right. First, First Lieutenant
Khaled Islamboulli; former Air Defense Lieutenant Abdel Hamid; Army Reserve Lieutenant
Ata Rayil; volunteer Sergeant Hussein Abbas: and a civilian. Muhammed Farag. an electrical
engineer. And here with the inside story of that assassination. "A Moment of Crisis." is Tom
Jarriel. Tom?
TOM JARRIEL: Hugh, the five assassins were members of an outlawed Moslem extremist
group called Jihad. who with surprisingly little planning put together what became one of the
most spontaneous assassination plots ever. Their goal: the overthrow of the Egyptian gov-
emment.
(voice-over) October 6. 1981: as he had done for seven years, President Anwar Sadat was in
the reviewing stand presiding over the annual military parade commemorating Egypt's attack
on Israel in 1973. The parade was orderly and predictable.
Field Marshal GHAZZALA, Defense Minister: I was sitting on the left of the President.
right on his left side, and we were watching the parade. talking: and I was also explaining to
him what kind of weaponry - new weaponry, you know, telling him that how many tanks we
received - everything like that.
JARRIEL [voice-over]: Around 1:00 p.m.. jets streaked overhead, their mar and colorful
exhaust grabbing the attention of those in the stands. That was the moment the assassins chose
to strike. The entire attack lasted 45 seconds. When it was over the President of Egypt was
dead; dead, too, were six other men - 43 others were wounded.
HOSNI MUBARAK, President of Egypt: This is a terrible shock. I myself was very
shocked - I couldn't realize- 'til now, I couldn't imagine that such things could happen in
our country.
JARRIEL (voice-over): How could President Sadat have been killed. surrounded by the very
army he had built up and led? And why had he been killed'' Was it a plot, an attempted coup?
Were outside forces involved? What pressures in Egypt sparked this radical, suicidal assassi-
nation plot? For those of us in the West, Sadat was perceived as a popular leader in his own
country. Having achieved peace with Israel, Sadat hoped to finally turn away from war and
bring prosperity to Egypt.
But in fact, that quest for prosperity - the flood of Western money and an increasing taste
for Western ways - only alienated many of his countrymen from Sadat. He was seen as
moving too fast, much like the former Shah of Iran, steering Egypt further and further from the
foundations of Islam, thereby betraying the ideal of an Islamic state. It was this feeling of
religious betrayal that brought together the group that would plan the assassination of Anwar
Sadat. Twenty-four men were eventually tried for their role in the plot; of these, five were
executed for having been directly responsible for the death of Sadat.
20/20 has obtained the actual testimony from the pretrial interrogation of those five nien.
Using their very words from the translated testimony. we will reconstruct the events preceding
the assassination and their actions in the crime itself. Actors will portray the assassins, but the
words they speak are real. Also, eyewitnesses present that day will recall the events. The five
conspirators: Lieutenant Khaled Islamboulli, age 25, a first lieutenant in the Army; Abdel
Hamid, 28 years old, former first lieutenant in the Air Defense; Ata Rayil, age 26, an electrical
engineer and a lieutenant in the Army Reserve; Hussein Abbas, age 28, volunteer sergeant, the
1980 sharpshooting champion of the Egyptian Army; Muhammad Farag, age 27. electrical
engineer and self-styled religious leader. In Farag's view, it was permissible to wage a holy war
not only against nonbelievers of Islam, but also against those Moslems who no longer lived
according to the precepts of the Koran. And to Muhammad Farag, Anwar Sadat was one of
these and deserved to die.
"MUHAMMAD FARAG": I confess. I am the principal conspirator in the operation to
assassinate the President of the Republic. By this means I wanted to implement the law of
almighty God, to eradicate the rule of the unbeliever. The aim was toestablish the Islamic state.
"ATA RAYIL": The President did not want to apply the rule of God. He pretended that these
rules did not have any power anymore. He wanted us to separate politics from religion, but this
is not the way of Islam. He says this is democracy. but that word does not exist in Islam.
Democracy is the rule of the people, and we will not have any guidance except the book of God
and the rule of God.
JARRIEL [voice-over): The man who by his own admission conceived the actual plan of
attack was First Lieutenant Khaled Islamboulli. Khaled was a devout Moslem. He had been
warned earlier by military authorities to stay away from Moslem extremists. He seemed to
comply for over a year. but he was still deeply troubled by what he believed to be Sadat's
compromising of the strict rules of Islam. Khaled was especially disturbed by the events of
September 1981, when in an effort to crack down on political dissidents, Sadat arrested over
1.500 people, including Khaled's younger brother, charging them with inciting the "law of
shame," a law that forbids the spreading of false rumors agaist the state. Many Egyptians felt
Sadat was using the law as a pretext to throw his enemies in jail. Khaled was angry and
disgusted with Sadat, but not contemplating murder. But, on September 22 fate lent a hand.
Two weeks before the annual military parade, Khaled was ordered to take part.
"KHALED ISLAMBOULU": I didn't want to take part. Someone else was supposed to go.
but his wife took sick, so that battalion leader appointed me. I wanted to go on vacation. I got
the idea during the first rehearsal. After that, it was a matter of carrying it out.
JARRIEL: Khaled then came here to see Farag at his mosque. He regarded Farag as his leader
in both spiritual and political matters. If Farag approved the assassination, then Khaled would
carry out the plan. Farag said, "Yes." at once.
"KHALED ISLAMBOULLI": We started to talk about conditions for Moslems. My mood
was bad. my morale was low because of what was going on in the country, I told him I was
going to be in the parade. that I would do anything to get rid of this oppressive ruler. .
"MUHAMMAD FARAG": We were going to cut communications, and start demonstrations
in the street - assassinating the President was 50% of the plan. We thought it would save us a
lot of failed attempts.
JARRIEL (voice-over[: Security at army camps was lax. Khaled's scheme centered on three
soldiers who would be on leave from his unit. His plan was to slip in three other men. disguised
as soldiers, to take their place for the parade, knowing few questions would be asked. Khaled
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found one of the assassins himself: his childhood friend Abdel [lamid.
"ABDEL HAMID": Khaled and I agreed that killing the President would serve as a lesson to
the one who came after him.
JARRIEL [voice-over]: Farag found Rayil and Hussein, and made the arrangements for
arms and ammunition. He did this by contacting other revolutionary Islamic groups.
"MUHAMMAD FARAG": I said, "You will see how God will make all things possible."
JARRIEL [voice-over): The desert was the only safe place where the extremists could train in
guerrilla warfare. It was where they kept their weapons. /on camera) Out here on the shoulder
of the desert highway south of Cairo, various explosives were hidden, including 13 hand
grenades, They were dug up from beneath kilometer marker no. 80, and delivered to the four
assassins.
[voice-over/ By Saturday, October 3, all four conspirators gathered here at the apartment of
Abdel Hamid. It was the first time the four had been together.
"ATA RAYIL": We talked about the legitimacy of the act. During the night everyone had his
Koran. Each of us was reading the Koran.
JARRIEL (voice-over): The plot even included obtaining knockout drugs for uncooperative
soldiers.
"ABDEL HAMID": It was part of the plan we had agreed on with Khaled. He was going to
give it to the driverof the truck, to make him groggy before the parade, so Khaled could replace
him, drive the truck himself. We tried this out on Hussein that night.
"HUSSEIN ABBAS": Our brother Khaled gave me the medicine in an orange soda, but it
didn't work.
JARRIEL: Sunday. October 4. two days before the assassination: the four met at this open-air
cafe, the Club Merryland. Khaled arrived carrying ammunition in his briefcase. The other
three came in military uniform. From this location Khaled drove them to within 600 yards of
where the troops for the parade were assembling. (voice-over/ They easily infiltrated the ranks
of the Egyptian Army. No questions were asked as they presented themselves to the officer in
charge.
Monday, October 5: Khaled ordered that his unit's rifles be turned over to him. Regulations
required all weapons to be disarmed during the parade by removing the firing pins.
"KHALED ISLAMBOULU": I ordered Abdel Hamid to disarm the weapons except for the
three that we were going to be using the next day. I figured that would make it easier for them to
recognize when they were handed out.
JARRIEL [voice-overt: This is Isam al-Hamid, a private in the Egyptian Army. On Tuesday,
October 6, he was assigned to drive the truck carrying the four assassins.
ISAM aI-HAMID, driver [translated]: We woke up as usual in the morning. like every day. I
checked the truck for maintenance. I noticed that the crew in the truck were not the same crew
that usually rude on with us - they had changed. and there were three or four strangers.
"KHALED ISLAMBOULU": I put four grenades in my helmet. I covered them with a yellow
towel and stowed the helmet underneath my seat. I sent my driver away to get some
sandwiches, then I took two grenades out of the helmet, wrapped them in newspaper. and
passed them to Hamid. I said, "Hey. soldier, want to read the paper?" And I put the other two
grenades in the glove compartment.
"ABDEL HAMID": I took the two grenades. I kept one for myself, I gave the other to Rayil.
"KHALED ISLAMBOULU": Just before we moved out, I'd say minutes before we moved
out, I took the other two grenades out of the glove compartment and put them inside my
uniform. Then I loaded the clip into the submachine gun. I put the submachine gun on the floor
of the cabin leaning against my leg.
al-HAMID: I went to take the machine gun from the truck to remove the firing mechanism, but
Lt. Khaled told me not to remove it. "If you remove it and lose it. I will have you
court-martialed," he said.
JARRIEL [voice-over/: At the same time the four assassins were making their final prepara-
tions, the man whom they had set out to kill arrived at the reviewing stand for the parade. As
was his custom, Sadat was not wearing a bullet-proof vest. He was somewhat of a fatalist when
it came to protecting himself. (on camera/ Watching from a glass-enclosed booth above and
behind Sadat was his wife, Jihan. She could easily see her husband down below in this position
on the reviewing stand. She had begged him to wear his bullet-proof vest.
JIHAN SADAT, widow of Anwar Sadat: And he refused. And he told me, "Jihan, if I
think in this way, it's- what about my head? The bullet will come in my head. Don't think in
this way, Jihan. And don't you believe in fate?" I always say. "Yes, sure [ believe." He said,
"Well, don't."
JARRIEL [voice-over]: Sadat even removed one of his bodyguards from his post directly
below because he obscured Sadat's view of the parade. Meanwhile, the trucks of the 333rd
Brigade, the brigade that included the four assassins, were slowly moving up the line.
"KHALED ISLAMBOULIJ": Everyone was in his place. There were 12 trucks in our
brigade. We were in the second set of four trucks, in the truck to the right - the truck that
would pass nearest the reviewing stands.
al-HAMID: Suddenly Lt. Khaled ordered me to stop. The order did not register in my mind.
He ordered me again, "Stop, or I will shoot you. " He pulled the hand brakes and opened the
door. At that moment I stopped. I stopped out of fear. He opened the door and jumped out.
JARRIEL [voice-over]: One of the invited guests in the stands that day was U.S. Ambassador
Alfred Atherton.
ALFRED ATHERTON, U.S. Ambassador to Egypt: My first impression was that this
was just another truck that had broken down, until I saw people beginning to get out of the
truck. My second thought was that they were going to put on some kind of a demonstration in
front of the President's box.
SELIM RISGALLAH, Interpreter: The one that was closest to the main reviewing stands
pulled up right in front of me.
JARRIEL [voice-over/: This is Sadat's private interpreter, Selim Risgallah, who was seated in
the front row to the President's left.
Mr. RISGALLAH: The door of the truck opened; a tall, dark young officer shot out of that
place carrying a hand grenade, and I could see him take two steps, then turn and hurl that hand
grenade. And I could see it fly up in the air, and I could see that this grenade landed actually
right in front of the wall in front of the reviewing stand. Sadat actually looked to the left.
because the explosion was to the left, actually, to his left, and I looked to the right. And almost
instantly a gun- there were two machine guns on the side of the truck, and I found somebody
shoot him in the neck, and he dropped.
"HUSSEIN ABBAS": I fired some shots from the top of the truck. By instinct [ aimed my
weapon toward the oppressor.
Mrs. SADAT: He didn't bow, he didn't bend. He didn't go under the chair. He stood up - his
reflex was to stand up and just put his hand, and he said. "No."
Field Marshal GHAZZALA: I heard someone shouting. "The President, the President!" So
I moved in front of him to cover him against the assassination. And then I pushed him, and I
lied over him, and that's exactly what happened in the very moment.
FABRICE MOUSSUS, ABC News cameraman: As the gunmen were starting to come
off the truck and throwing grenades, which were all landing short of the reviewing stand. I took
the camera off the tripod and Aly and I ran towards the reviewing stand. And we're sort of
-running parallel at the same time. about the same speed as the gunmen.
JARRIEL [voice-over/: The four assassins advanced quickly toward the stands. Abdel Hamid
was first off the truck, closely followed by Khaled.
"ABDEL HAMID": I was the first one to get to the stands. When I got there I turned and
climbed the steps which were to my right. I raised my rifle and shot the President. I saw him
underneath the chairs: it was obvious that he was already hit. I finished my clip into him until
my ammunition ran out.
Mr. MOUSSUS: And as they're running, one of them hides behind the Egypt-TV camera
which has been left unmanned. The others are already in front of the reviewing stand.
JARRIEL [voice-over/: The man behind that camera was the sharpshooter Hussein. It was his
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first blast of bullets from the truck that likely killed Sadat. Khaled by this time had reached the
podium and was shooting point-blank over the wall.
Field Marshal GHAZZALA: When I was lying over the President. I saw one of the assassins,
just about two yards far away from me, pointing his submachine gun towards us. And then he
pulled the trigger and at that moment. I felt that it's the end of everything.
JARRIEL (voice-over): Khaled then ran out of ammunition and retreated. His place at the wall
was taken by Hamid and Rayil.
"ATA RAYIL": I didn't- I didn't see the President. I found the first row was nothing but
chairs. No one was there. I reached up, I fired not more than 10 bullets, and I hit someone in the
fifth row on the platform.
JARRIEL [voice-over]: As cameraman Fabrice Moussus and soundman Aly Ashmawy ran
toward the stands, they were unknowingly on a collision course with Hussein, who was nearing
the steps.
Mr. MOUSSUS: As we came over here, we had to come all the way out here, because this
area was roped off. Sadat's photographer was protecting himself behind this wall. One of the
gunmen at this point turned around 180 degrees and pointed his gun at us. And this- again.
split-second eye contact, a moment of hesitation, and I really thought he was going to shoot us.
So we ducked behind this wall right here, okay, and so we were stopped, you know, right in
front of the podium. I put the camera in front of my face because I really thought he was going
to come around and shoot us, and I thought this camera was thick enough it could ricochet a few
of the bullets. And it's only six seconds, but I think it goes on forever, and I'm dying to keep
going. And we get up again and we go towards the reviewing stand up those steps. and I can see
that Sadat's personal photographer. Muhammad Rashwan, has been killed.
Amb. ATHERTON: There's a lot of shooting, and obviously the bullets were being sprayed
all over the place. And I could hear them whizzing by in the air. It's very strange. but as I was
lying on the ground, I expected to be hit, and the thought going through my mind was. "I
wonder what it's going to feel like."
JARRIEL (voice-over J: The attack was over in less than a minute. In the chaos and panic on
the reviewing stand, the main concern was for Sadat.
Mr. MOUSSUS: As we get to the area where Sadat was sitting. I can see Muharak and Ahw
Ghazzala. the defense minister, were just getting up. And Sadat is not there. And I remember
that I kept shooting and I kept asking Aly, "Where is Sadat? Where is Sadat?" And we just
couldn't find his body.
JARRIEL [voice-over]: Sadat's bodyguards, caught off guard during the shooting. had
dragged his body from underneath the tangle of chairs just as the shooting stopped. Very
probably, Sadat was already dead, but he was nevertheless rushed to this military hospital.
Mrs. SADAT: I felt- I felt immediately, because I stayed there in the hospital with our
President and other ministers, and my children were there, and half an hour passed, nobody
came and tell me anything. If there was any hope, I believe any one of the doctors would come
and say when there is hope or there is something. Nobody said anything. Then I said to our
President Mubarak, "Just go and look after Egypt." And I went inside and I took illy children.
and it was over.
Field Marshal GHAZZAU: I didn't recognize that I was safe 'til I stood up. and at that
moment I felt as if, you know, maybe I am badly injured. And I shook my head. I felt that I am
okay. so I started asking the generals to take over and control the whole damn' situation.
Because I was thinking at that time, "Maybe there is a coup."
JARRIEL [voice-over[: There was no coup; other minor attempts to disrupt the government
by revolutionary groups were quickly stopped. So were the assassins. As they retreated from
the stands, three of the four assassins were wounded and captured. Khaled was shot in the
stomach and shoulder: Hamid was hit in the thigh; Rayil took four rounds in the stomach and
two in the arm. Only Hussein escaped. by merging into the crowd.
"HUSSEIN ABBAS": I kept on walking past the subway. Then I stopped a cab_ I got out of
the cab near the last stop of bus no. 48. 1 walked the rest of the way. about 10 minutes. until I
reached the house.
JARRIEL: Hussein remained at large for four days. Authorities arrested him before dawn on
Friday morning. They found him staying at his sister's house.
(voice-over/ So, in the end who were the men who killed Anwar Sadat? The documents we
obtained from their interrogation showed they had been deeply influenced by events in Iran,
having seen the Shah and his Western-oriented government toppled by men whose prime
motive was to return Iran to a religious Islamic state. For the assassins of Anwar Sadat. that
ideal gave them the inspiration to push on, to rid themselves and Egypt of the man they thought
to be the infidel, Anwar Sadat. Their goal cost them their lives, too; on April 15. 1982. the five
were taken from jail and executed, still believing their cause was just. Muhammad Farag.
electrical engineer and self-styled religious leader, age 27:
"MUHAMMAD FARAG": Being young does not mean we cannot wage the holy war. After
all, the prophet Mohammed to whom God spoke related that he achieved his final triumph
because of the aid of the young. It was the old ones who were his enemies.
JARRIEL [voice-over]: Hussein Abbas, volunteer sergeant, age 28:
"HUSSEIN ABBAS": The oppressor did not rule us with the book of God. His soldiers, his
police invaded the mosques. We take our religion from those learned men, we don't take our
religion from him.
JARRIEL [voice-over]: Ata Rayil, electrical engineer. Army Reserves, age 26:
"ATA RAYIL": Of course we knew that some of the others would get killed. But the rule of the
Koran says that if a nonbeliever hides behind a Moslem, it is permitted to kill the Moslem in
order to kill the nonbeliever behind him. And the Moslems who were killed will be resurrected
as martyrs.
JARRIEL [voice-over]: Abdel Hamid. former lieutenant in the Air Defense, age 28:
"ABDEL HAMID": I knew in the end that it would be death, but I did what was required of me
- to kill the leader of those who do not believe.
JARRIEL [voice-over]: Khaled Islamboulli, first lieutenant in the Army, age 25:
"KHALED ISLAMBOULLI": I did what I did in order that Egypt would be ruled by the hook
of God and the instructions of his prophet. Because the recent laws do not agree with [slam.
what God wanted, happened.
HUGH DOWNS: Thank you, Tom - a remarkable report. Incidentally. comments by Mrs.
Sadat and President Mubarak came from interviews conducted by Barbara Walters.
Well, later in the broadcast, a medical report on liver transplants in children. Too many
children waiting; too few transplant organs available. But next, country music singer Barbara
Mandrell - she is proper and pious but she sings of lust and sin, right after this.
(commercial break]
DOWNS: Tonight we have the story of an explosive talent, Barbara Mandrell. If you know
country music, you know her. She's the only one who's ever won the prestigious Entertainer of
the Year Award of the Country Music Association two years in a row. And you may also know
Barbara Mandrell through her successful television series in which she starred with her younger
sisters Louise and Irlene. This is a family success story. and here to tell it is Steve Fox. Steve''
STEVE FOX: Hugh. at age 33, Barbara Mandrell is at the top of her career. Her audience is
growing constantly. because Barbara is one of a handful of stars who have been able to cross
over from country music and appeal to a wider audience. But make no mistake - her mots and
her heart are in country.
(Barbara Mandrell singing "1 Was Country When Country Wasn't Cool"l
FOX [voice-over]: "I Was Country When Country Wasn't Cool" is one of Barbara Man-
drell's biggest hit singles. and the lyrics reveal her unlikely musical heritage.
BARBARA MANDRELL (singing/: I was listening to the Opry/When all of my friends
were digging rock and roll and rhythm and blues/'Cause I was country when country wasn't
cool.
FOX [voice-over/: This is a story about a country singer who credits her family for her
stardom. Barbara sings country. but grew up in southern California. surrounded by the sounds
of the Beach Boys. the Beatles and rock and roll. But the influence of her parents proved more
important.
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