Suleiman Khater
| Suleiman Khater | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born |
Suleiman Mohammed Abdul-Hamid Khater 1961 Ekyad, Egypt |
| Died | January 7, 1986 (aged 24–25) Cairo, Egypt |
| Occupation | Soldier |
Suleiman Mohammed Abdul-Hamid Khater (Arabic سليمان خاطر, also transcribed Soleiman, Sulaiman, Sulayman, Suliman etc.; 1961-1986) was an Egyptian soldier who committed the Ras Burqa massacre of October 5, 1985, when he opened fire on Israeli tourists in the Sinai Peninsula, killing seven of them, as well as an Egyptian police officer. While Israel demanded that he be harshly punished, he enjoyed widespread support in Egypt and throughout the Arab world for his actions. Khater was found dead in January 1986, hanged in his jail cell, and many suspected that the Egyptian authorities staged a "suicide" as a convenient escape from their political dilemma. After his death, the Iranian government of Ayatollah Khomeini issued a stamp reading "In honour of the martyrdom of Sulayman Khater, Hero of Sinai" and named a street in Tehran for him.
Suleiman Khater was born in 1961 in the village of Ekyad (sometimes transcribed Akyad) in Al-Sharkeyya governorate, Egypt. He was the youngest of three boys and two girls. During his childhood, Khater witnessed the Israeli strike on Bahr el-Bakar Primary School on April 8, 1970.
In adulthood, Khater joined the Egyptian Central Security Forces as part of his mandatory national service. He also began studying law at Zagazig University through a distance education program.
According to the Associated Press report published by the Pittsburgh Press, on October 5, 1985, Khater, a policeman, shot and killed 7 Israeli tourists, including four children and two women, approximately 25 miles from the Egyptian-Israeli Border. Khater wounded two other minors, one aged 5. The shooting occurred in the late afternoon near a resort.
Khater's lawyer requested that the trial be held in civil court, but his request was refused. He court-martialed, found guilty, and sentenced to life in prison with hard labor on December 28, 1985. He was sent to the Military Prison in Cairo to begin serving his sentence. Khater committed suicide on January 7, 1986, less than two weeks into his life term. He was found hanged in his cell.
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