Shot near the king

Al-Ahram: A Diwan of contemporary life (647)
Shot near the king
On 5 September 1938, a gun went off in Alexandria Sporting Club as King Farouk was visiting. Though the target did not appear to be the king, the incident was thoroughly investigated before the culprit was imprisoned several months later. Professor Yunan Labib Rizk presents a detailed account of this little-known event
In her authoritative book Farouk from Birth to Death, Latifa Mohamed Salem outlines what she calls an isolated incident, one that took place at the Sporting Club in Alexandria on the evening of Sunday 4 September 1938, when a gunshot was fired while Farouk was attending a swimming match there. She described it thus, and all that concerned her was the negative effect this incident had on relations between the former king and the Wafd Party. She addressed everything in Farouk's life in a scientific manner, and has been the only person to have pointed out this incident that, as far as I know, has not been given attention by anyone else who has written about the history of Egypt's former ruler.
Salem relied heavily on contemporary periodicals as her sources, in particular the two weekly magazines Akher Saa and Rose El-Youssef. Yet the feel of such a dramatic incident in a daily newspaper certainly differs from that in weekly magazines. While we agree with Salem that the incident was inconsequential and isolated, it is necessary to record it in the Diwan in light of the circumstances that surrounded it and the limited information we have on it. In this issue of the Diwan we present these records in their original text, something that we have on occasion resorted to before.
AL-AHRAM 5 SEPTEMBER 1938: Headlines: Gunshot fired in the Sporting Club upon His Majesty the King's leaving the swimming match festivities -- the arrest of two young men, the injury of an Italian, the questioning of those arrested -- the ministers attend the investigation -- the King passes by the investigation site.
Alexandria on 4 September, by Al-Ahram 's special correspondent: His Majesty the King remained in the swimming pool area at the Sporting Club until six in the evening and then left the location to return to Muntazah Palace. As His majesty was about to get into the royal automobile there -- and as the ministers and the remaining prominent invitees bid His Majesty farewell, and Colonel Omar Fathi Bey, the top camp-de-aide was walking round the vehicle to take his place in the retinue of His Majesty -- the sound of a pistol shot rang out among the crowd of spectators of the swimming event. Its firing, before His Majesty had distanced himself from the pool, was an incident that called for attention and a search for the pistol and the reasons for it being fired.
The arrest of two young men: Present were Intelligence Officer Taha Abdel-Baqi Effendi and Pilot Officer Mahmoud Saleh Effendi. They rushed to the site of the incident and closed in on a young man before whom the pistol was found, and another young man who was sitting directly behind him. It appears that the first is John Asfar, the son of Gabriel Asfar, a lawyer in Cairo, and a third year student in the college of law at the university. The second is his friend, Joe Dabana, the son of the eminent Alexandrian Ferdinand Dabana. John had come from Cairo at the beginning of the month to spend some days with his friend, Dabana.
The injury of an Italian: It became known that the bullet struck the thigh of a young Italian man named Augustino, an employee at one of the Italian commercial stores in the city. The police are following his condition.
When His Majesty left in his royal retinue, returning to the palace, the attention of the ministers and government officials turned to the circumstances of this incident.
The investigation in Muharram Bey police station: At 6.30, the search and investigation was transferred to the Muharram Bey police station. The two men mentioned above were taken there and the injured individual, Augustino, was sent to the hospital. Mahmoud Maher Bey, a forensic physician, was called in to examine his condition, and it appears that his injury is slight and is in his left leg.
The ministers attend the investigation: Gathered at the police station were Their Excellencies Mahmoud Fahmi El-Nuqrashi Pasha, the minister of the interior, Ahmed Maher, the minister of finance, Ahmed Kheshaba Pasha, the minister of justice, Saba Habashi Bey, the minister of commerce, and Yassin Ahmed Bey and some of the top officers in the royal guard, some of the soldier guards who were at the festivity on duty, a number of reporters from newspapers and telegraph news companies. A number of those who were at the pool as spectators of the match arrived to give their testimony. Some women and girls were among them.
The investigation took place in one room. The successive news of the incident at the investigation site, hearing details of it from witnesses of its occurrence, and giving pause to the accounts of some of the witnesses, all provided conclusive evidence that there was no connection to the beloved, His Majesty the King. This brings peace of mind and overall comfort. Yet it was not permissible to carry arms into an event attended by His Majesty the King. Its firing was a shocking event at that hour.
The accounts of witnesses: The accounts of witnesses differed in the details of the incident in a manner than only increased its mysteriousness. It was said that at 10pm His Excellency the Minister of the Interior would issue an official statement on the incident but the development of the investigation did not permit the issue of this statement before 11.30pm, after which the official statement was issued, being:
"Following the conclusion of the swimming championship event held at the Sporting Club this afternoon, and after His Majesty the King left, the sound of a gunshot was heard from the roof and directed at the upper bleachers. One of the spectators was slightly injured in the thigh. The police have seized the pistol and an individual charged with its possession at the time of the incident named John Asfar. The office of the district attorney has undertaken the investigation."
A girl witnesses the incident: The investigator was told at 10.30 that a girl who seems to be the daughter of Zaghbib, a lawyer in the mixed courts, witnessed the incident with her own eyes, and she was summoned. Her father, Zaghbib, first came and informed the investigators that his daughter was currently present at their summer home in Sidi Bishr but that if it was necessary to bring her that evening he would do so to serve justice. He was asked to bring her and he did this.
The two young men were detained in the police station, and it is understood that the first sought to clear himself as innocent in the incident. Some of the ministers returned to their places.
His Majesty visits the investigation site: It must be mentioned that His Majesty, following his return to the palace, remained concerned with what took place at the Sporting Club. At 8.30, His Majesty passed near the Muharram Bey police station in the royal automobile. His Excellency the Minister of the Interior came out and had the honour of meeting with him, and informed His Majesty of the investigation's developments. He only stopped there for a short period.
Al-Ahram on 6 September: The Sporting Club incident: The investigation into the gunfire incident at the Sporting Club last night continued until 4am. The ministers did not go home at midnight as had been understood all that time. Rather, they remained and supervised the investigation until the end.
The case required that the site in which the incident took place be examined, and so the investigators, ministers, and police moved to the Sporting Club at 3am and gathered around the swimming pool at that late hour. The young man John Asfar was also brought to the site with his friend Joe Dabana in his capacity as a witness, along with several other witnesses, Madame Alyce Romano, Messieurs Paul Sasson, and Mohamed Saleh Effendi and Abbas Ezzat Effendi, employees in the Alexandria municipality.
This examination took approximately an hour, during which it was confirmed that the incident was far removed from the stature of His Majesty. Yet the detained young man continued to deny the entire incident. He mentioned His Majesty during the investigation with him and cried as evidence of this pure intentions and innocence.
Today the district attorney returned to the investigation under his authority in the indigenous court headquarters. His Excellency El-Nuqrashi Pasha, the minister of the interior, went there and supervised the investigation. Finally, it was ascertained that the incident was of no interest or importance. Yet the investigation is ongoing, simply as the system requires such.
Al-Ahram on 8 September: The gunfire incident at the Sporting Club -- the investigation changes course -- John Asfar is released: The investigation into the gunfire incident at the Sporting Club in Al-Raml changed course yesterday when the district attorney ordered the arrest of Hassanein Abdel-Rahim Ahmed, office boy in the mixed courts. He had been seated at the swimming match next to John Asfar, and claims that he grabbed the pistol from the hand of this young man. There are connections and circumstances in this case that require taking serious interest in his situation.
The district attorney and the attorney general met and decided to issue a resolution confirming two facts proven by the examination. The first is that there was no intention of aggression in the incident, and the second is that it is practically speaking impossible that the incident targeted the personage of His Majesty the King.
As for the story of Hassanein Abdel-Rahim Ahmed, the police and the district attorney's office have investigated it and it can be summarised as follows: Hassanein came to serve the mixed courts last April as an office boy, and thus is still new there. Prior to that, he had been the driver of Katsflis for 10 years. Prior to that, he had served in the British army. He attended the swimming match. He rarely takes interest in such events that are usually attended by ministers, palace officials, top government officials, prominent personalities, and club members. He said that he entered free of charge because he was known by the club workers. It is said that he did not enter free of charge but rather paid the entry fee, which is 17 piastres.
Not long ago, he participated in seizing a knife that a claimant in the mixed judiciary was trying to attack a lawyer in the Alexandria mixed court with over a case he thought the court would rule in his interest on. The lawyer rewarded him with LE5, and the police tipped him 50 piastres.
It was agreed that the gun that was fired at the swimming event as His Majesty was preparing to leave the club -- and which was found between the student John Asfar and the office boy Hassanein -- was fired due to the fight between them over it and as a result shot the leg of the Italian spectator Augustino. When the intelligence officer arrived at the site of the incident, the pistol was between these two individuals and John Asfar pushed it towards his neighbour. The police had to assume that he was responsible for the incident until shown otherwise. The student was arrested, and Hassanein succeeded in showing himself as the alert judicial employee who had paid service to the law and His Majesty the King by seizing the pistol at the last moment in fear that it would bring evil.
Yet the investigation ongoing since Sunday has clarified the situation of John Asfar and his being far removed from any thought that would drive an individual to carry a pistol and use it in the situation outlined above. The statements of some of the witnesses have turned the eyes of the investigators towards the fore-mentioned Hassanein. He was arrested, as noted above, and is being investigated. The basis of the investigation in this case is that the pistol belonged to him and not the student, and that he wanted from the incident to gain a reward greater than that he won through his participation in seizing a knife at the mixed courts.
Today Hassanein came to the investigation site before and after noon. One of the club's workers was asked about how he entered the race area. One of the traffic police was also asked about him, and the district attorney's office continued its investigation in this direction. As for the Italian who was shot in the thigh with the bullet, he had a surgical operation yesterday to extract the bullet. It was removed, after having passed under the skin to near the knee.
The release of John Asfar: At 7.45, the district attorney issued an order for the release of John Asfar, and he was immediately released. He went with his father from the district attorney's office to the Muharram Bey police station to get his clothes that were there. The district attorney told newspaper reporters the following:
"The investigation has confirmed that there is absolutely no connection between what happened and His Majesty the King. The investigation is now revolving around the owner of the pistol that shot a bullet that struck the Italian who was present at the occurrence of this incident." The attorney general has not made his final decision on this case but has put together a report on what the investigations have concluded until now. As for Hassanein Abdel-Rahim, the office boy in the mixed courts and the first witness in this case, he has been returned to the Muharram Bey police station and the investigation is ongoing.
Al-Ahram on 9 September: The gunfire incident at the Sporting Club: The public was pleased by the declared innocence of the young man John Asfar of the charge of opening fire in the Sporting Club after remaining under the pressure of close investigation for four days. During the first of these days, he witnessed interest by government officials in the matter that never would have crossed his mind and which left a strong influence on a young man like himself.
Now the scope of the investigation into the incident has encompassed Hassanein Abdel-Rahim Ahmed, office boy at the mixed courts. The office of the district attorney is following his movement and behaviour following the incident and among its findings is that he had said to his colleagues that he would obtain a royal gift or medal.
Today some witnesses were summoned in order to hear their statements on matters related to him, including Arbib. He concurs that he saw Abdel-Rahim during the fight that occurred between him and John Asfar at the site of the incident and that he fell onto the ground in a state of disturbance and that he gave him something from the club buffet to drink. Also among these witnesses was the honourable Dimitri Khalat Bey, the father-in-law of Katsflis, who Hassanein served as a driver prior to his appointment as an office boy in the mixed courts. Also summoned were some of the office boys of this court. His honourable district attorney presented His Excellency the Minister of Justice with the conclusions the investigation into the incident had reached.
Al-Ahram on 10 September: The gunfire incident in the Sporting Club: Yesterday the investigation into the gunfire incident at the Sporting Club last Sunday continued in the district attorney headquarters until 9.30pm. The court discussed with Hassanein Abdel-Rahim Ahmed, office boy in the mixed courts, the pistol and its use. It also examined his previous work, behaviour, morals and so on.
The investigation was delayed until today, and it is understood that the incident is now in the office of the district attorney in terms of the legal designation as a minor misdemeanour concerning the possession of a weapon without a permit and an accidental shooting of the Italian who was struck by a bullet in his thigh. In this connection, we note that lawyer Gabriel Asfar, father of John Asfar who was detained because of this incident for four days before his situation became clear and he was cleared as innocent, went with his son yesterday to the palace and raised signs of loyalty and fidelity to the dearly beloved lord of the throne. They declared their appreciation of the investigators and their justness, and greatly thanked the newspapers, which were of good help to the members of the prosecution in revealing the truth.
Official statement from the Ministry of Justice: In view of the fact that the incident of gunfire at the athletic Sporting Club took place following the end of the swimming event honoured by the attendance of His Majesty the King, it has been incumbent upon the investigation to address every possible individual and to continue until the goal of distinguishing fact and reality is met.
It has been made undoubtedly clear from the statements of witnesses heard in the investigation and an examination of the site in which the suspect stood, as well as the state of the weapon he claims to have seized and his good reputation and history and his distance from political affairs, as all the witnessed proved to have interacted with him concurred on ñ all of this has proven that it never crossed anyone's mind to think of an assault. The investigation is now limited to knowing whether the suspect is the owner of the seized weapon or if the office boy pressed it on him to make himself appear like a defending guard in order to earn a reward for that, as the suspect says in his defence.
Al-Ahram on 11 September: The gunfire incident in the Sporting Club: The office of the district attorney resumed today the investigation into the gunfire at the Sporting Club last Sunday evening. Today it summoned Hassanein Abdel-Rahim, office boy at the mixed court, to continue the investigation with him. Then the office of the attorney general heard the statements of Officer Taha Abdel-Baqi Effendi, who arrested John Asfar and Hassanein Abdel-Rahim when the pistol was fired. After the officer gave his testimony, the office of the district attorney decided to resume the investigation tomorrow.
Al-Ahram on 12 September: The Sporting Club incident: The office of the attorney-general freed Hassanein Abdel-Rahim, office boy at the mixed court, after he had been held for investigation due to the Sporting Club incident. Yesterday, the office of the district attorney received an anonymous letter attributing the gunfire to two residents of Menouf now residing in Alexandria. When they were questioned, it became clear that there was no basis to that mentioned in the letter. The investigation into this incident has been halted until the police conclude the investigation the office of the attorney general has requested.
Al-Ahram on 2 October: The Sporting incident: The investigation of the gunfire incident at the Sporting Club has not yet concluded. We understand that its continuation for four weeks, since the occurrence of the incident, is the result of uncertainty over the issue of the pistol that was fired there. Abdel-Rahim, an office boy in the mixed court, has been charged, but still refutes that he carried this pistol. The testimonies of witnesses regarding the circumstances and the evidence do not offer any proof.
Al-Ahram on 20 October: The Sporting Club incident: The prosecutor in the mixed judiciary sent a letter yesterday to the office of the indigenous district attorney in connection to the continued investigation of Abdel-Rahim Hassanein, an office boy in the mixed court of Alexandria. The office of the attorney general continues to investigate his position. It studied the matter today and summoned some other witnesses to hear their testimonies in regard to him.
Al-Ahram on 27 November: The case of gunfire in the Sporting Club: Today the misdemeanour court in Al-Attarine met under the presidency of Nassif Gargawi and addressed the case of the gunfire incident at the Sporting Club last 4 September, which Hassanein Abdel-Rahim, office boy in the mixed court of this city, is charged with executing in connection with the attendance of His Majesty the King to the swimming race that was held there. He is charged with doing this to suggest to those concerned that he warded off an assault he feared would take place against His Majesty and thus deserves a reward. The assault attempt was then misattributed to the young man John Asfar, a student in the college of law in Cairo who attended the event. Yet the investigation proved the innocence of this student and the charge has been placed on Hassanein, as mentioned above.
That day, an Italian named Augustino who was among the spectators was struck by the fired bullet. The office of the district attorney has demanded the charged be punished according to articles 1 and 2 of the law on holding weapons without a licence and articles 244, 303, and 305 of the penal code.
Al-Ahram on 25 January 1939: The misdemeanour court of Al-Attarine in Alexandria passed today a ruling in the case of Abdel-Rahim Hassanein, office boy in the mixed court and charged with firing a gun in the Sporting Club last 5 September.
The ruling: The sentenced will be imprisoned for two years with labour, a bail of LE20, and confiscation of the pistol seized at the incident. Hassanein was charged with three counts:
He lied to the competent authorities that John Asfar, student in the college of law in Cairo, had prepared to attack His Majesty the King, who was present at the event, and attributed the firing of the pistol to him for this purpose, driven by bad intentions.
Through his negligence, he caused the injury of Augustino in his left thigh upon the firing of the pistol.
He possessed a pistol without a licence.
He has been punished for the first and third charges and deemed innocent of the second. The sentenced did not attend the session in which this sentence was passed. It was attended by some members of his family, and the police have been ordered to arrest him.
Comment: Despite appealing, the man was imprisoned, and his whole plan backfired