Coup Atlas Research Database
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65104141966ConspiracyMilitary coup

Egypt, 1966 — military coup conspiracy

Egypt (EGY)North Africa, AfricaApril 14, 1966

Event Summary

This entry is coded 14 April 1966, during the investigation and trial phase following the Muslim Brotherhood plot against President Gamal Abdel Nasser known as the Organization 1965 affair. After a partial thaw, Brotherhood ideologue Sayyid Qutb, released in 1964, became the leader of a reconstituted clandestine body whose younger militants favored a revolutionary strategy against the Nasserist state. In August 1965 the government announced the discovery of a huge revolutionary plot to overthrow the state and assassinate Nasser; roughly 18,000 people were arrested, with widespread use of torture, and Qutb was rearrested on 9 August 1965.

His trial, in which the state used his book Milestones as evidence, culminated in a death sentence for Qutb and six others; he was executed by hanging on 29 August 1966. The April 1966 coding sits in the investigation and trial period of this plot, one of the defining confrontations between the Brotherhood and the Egyptian state.

Researched Details

Researched

Independent research, added record by record. Hover any label for what it means.

Target identified in Coup Atlas research: Nasser survived the plot; Qutb and other Brotherhood members were executed and the organization was crushed
RESEARCHED NAME
Key figures
Gamal Abdel Nasser (Egyptian president, target)
Sayyid Qutb (Brotherhood ideologue, executed)
Zaynab al-Ghazali and the Organization 1965 network

Sources

In August 1965 the government claimed to have discovered that the Brotherhood was organizing a huge revolutionary plot; about 18,000 people were arrested and torture was used systematically during interrogations.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia: History of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt (1954 to present) open source ↗
Qutb was rearrested on 9 August 1965, accused of plotting to overthrow the state and to assassinate the president, and subjected to what some consider a show trial.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia: Sayyid Qutb open source ↗
The trial culminated in a death sentence for Qutb and six other members of the Muslim Brotherhood, and he was executed by hanging on 29 August 1966.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia: Sayyid Qutb open source ↗
A subgroup within the Brotherhood called Organization 1965 was established during the late-1950s thaw, and Qutb became the leader of the new body.
SOURCE REVIEWED Sawab Center: Muslim Brotherhood open source ↗

Editorial Note

No discrete event is precisely dated 14 Apr 1966 in the sources located this session; the coding sits in the investigation and trial phase of the Organization 1965 plot (Aug 1965 arrests, Aug 1966 executions). Context with strong framing. First Egypt record in this run.

Cross-Reference

Only one dataset carries it. One of the three reference datasets we check against carries this event; the others do not list it. That is not a contradiction — the datasets cover different periods and use different thresholds — but it means the record has had less outside corroboration.

Identifiers for finding this same event in the other datasets:

Cline Center id
65104141966

How the match is made is described in crossref-report.md.

Outcome and Target

Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: Nasser survived the plot; Qutb and other Brotherhood members were executed and the organization was crushed.

Baseline coding: Plot discovered and disrupted before execution. Recorded leader fate: remained in office; not physically harmed. The baseline file does not name individual targets; researched names are kept in a separate layer.

Baseline Dataset Citation

Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset, v2.2.2
Peyton, Buddy, Joseph Bajjalieh, Michael Martin, and Andrea Gerald. 2026. Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset. Cline Center for Advanced Social Research. V.2.2.2. February 17. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. doi: 10.13012/B2IDB-9651987_V10
⚑ This citation establishes the coded baseline record; use the claim-level sources above for the researched narrative.

Baseline Source-Document Entries

New York Times

“20 Reported Jailed In Anti-Nasser Plot 20 REPORTED HELD IN PLOT ON NASSER Disaffection Long Assumed Extent of the Payments,” April 15, 1966

The Guardian

“Plot to overthrow Nasser,” April 15, 1966

Chicago Tribune

“Hear Cairo nabs 20 in Army plot to oust Nasser,” April 15, 1966

This is the citation trail carried by the baseline dataset, grouped by outlet and rejoined from the line-wrapped original. Coup Atlas has not independently re-checked every document; read the original before citing a specific claim. URLs the import damaged beyond safe repair are shown as plain text and listed in citations-report.md. How this list is built →

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