British daily unveils document on Ottoman sultan descendant’s CIA ties

ISTANBUL

British newspaper The Times has published a document allegedly revealing that Kenize Murad, a renowned French-Turkish writer and descendant of Ottoman Sultan Murad V, was recruited by the CIA as an informant in 1973 under the codename “UNPOLO/1.”

According to the report, Murad, the granddaughter of Hatice Sultan and daughter of Selma Rauf Hanım Sultan, was approached by an American diplomat while working as a journalist specializing in Middle Eastern affairs.

She was reportedly tasked with gathering intelligence on Chinese diplomats and Middle Eastern targets, a role she initially accepted before sending a letter to the CIA a month later, stating her withdrawal.

However, The Times claims that newly accessed documents suggest her association with the agency continued until 1979. The document in question was among those recovered from the U.S. Embassy in Tehran during the Iranian Revolution, after Iranian carpet weavers reconstructed shredded classified files.

Murad has denied ever working for the CIA, stating that she pretended to accept the offer to gather material for a future expose on how the agency recruited left-leaning journalists.

She later abandoned this idea, citing fear of repercussions. “I realized I was being foolish and that writing about the CIA without risking a terrifying retaliation was impossible,” she told The Times. “I shouldn’t have even pretended to go along with it. I was so scared that I couldn’t even confront the diplomat directly; ınstead, I sent a regretful letter.”

Addressing the claim that her name remained on CIA records until 1979, Murad speculated it might have been due to bureaucratic error.

Murad, who grew up in Paris after losing her mother at the age of two, studied sociology and psychology at the Sorbonne. She worked various jobs, including archival work at the National Library of France and as an Air France flight attendant.

She later gained recognition as a journalist covering the Middle East for 15 years before transitioning to literature.