LONDON: It is hard to conclude right now whether Ashraf Marwan s was murdered or died of natural causes, yet the most likely scenario is that he was murdered and that nobody will discover the truth behind his death, Adel Hammouda, editor in chief of El Fagr newspaper and author of several books on espionage, told The Daily Star Egypt. Ashraf Marwan, businessman and son-in-law of former Egyptian President Gamal Abd El Nasser, was found dead after allegedly falling off his apartment balcony in central London on June 27, reported the press. Marwan, 62, was believed to have been a double agent for Israeli and Egyptian intelligence in 1973 during Israeli's war with Egypt and Syria. According to Haaretz newspaper, General Eli Zeira, who headed the Israeli military intelligence in 1973, released Marwan's name to the press in 2003 as the double agent who betrayed Israeli intelligence, thereby putting Marwan s life in danger. But according to Hammouda, during the past two months Marwan has been saying that he fears assasination and that he had met with Zeira and told him that he was going to begin writing his autobiography. Marwan has had many clashes, including conflicts with businessmen such as Mohammed Al Fayed, and he was a mysterious person who did not have a lot of friends, said Hammouda. He added that the apartment building from which Marwan fell was originally the building of the French embassy and that it was built like a castle, with the windows secured with iron rods, making it ompossible for anyone to fall from off. Al-Masry Al-Youm reported that a close family friend claimed that one of Marwan's friends saw him fall off the balcony when he was on his way to visit him at his apartment. He added that Marwan was speaking on his cell phone when he lost balance due to a recent medical condition that forced him to use a cane. "The whole issue is suspicious, specifically regarding the series of deaths that have occurred in London of people like and actress Soad Hosni, said Nabil Abdel Fatah, deputy head of the political studies department at Al Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies. Abdel Fatah added that Marwan's several roles such as political and security advisor, his relationship to Abd El Nasser, Egyptian arms dealer, a businessman and the possibility of him being a double agent either in favor of Israel or Egypt indicate the possibility of an assassination, but that we would have to wait and see the results of investigations by Scotland Yard. The Times reported that, so far, the police are treating the murder as "unexplained and considering three possibilities, that he either lost his balance, committed suicide or was murdered.
