Who is Ottoman heir Kenize Murad, why is she accused of being CIA informant in 1973

A recent report by “The Times” has caused controversy by claiming that Kenize Murad, a French journalist, war correspondent, and novelist of Ottoman descent, was a CIA informant in 1973.

The article, citing alleged documents that were reconstructed from shredded files in Iran, suggests that Murad provided intelligence to the U.S. agency.

The claim has been widely shared, prompting discussions about the motivations behind it—especially given Murad’s long-standing support for the Palestinian cause. But who is Kenize Murad, and what is the real story behind these allegations?

Kenize Murad’s early life, Ottoman empire’s exile

Kenize Murad was born in Paris in 1940 to Selma Hanimsultan, the granddaughter of Ottoman Sultan Murad V. Her family was part of the Ottoman dynasty, which was expelled from Türkiye in 1924 following the abolition of the monarchy and establishment of the republic. The exiled members, stripped of their citizenship, were forced to survive in foreign lands.

Murad’s mother, Selma Sultana, faced immense hardship. After moving to India, she married a minor prince, Nawab Sayyid Hussein Sayeed Zaidi. However, during World War II, she found herself trapped in Nazi-occupied Paris, where she died in poverty when Kenize Murad was just 14 months old.

The infant was left in the garden of the Swiss consulate and later placed in a Catholic boarding school, growing up without any knowledge of her royal heritage.

Discovering her royal heritage, becoming an international journalist

Despite a difficult childhood, Kenize Murad pursued higher education at the Sorbonne, studying sociology and psychology while working various jobs to support herself.

• She later became a journalist, covering conflicts in the Middle East, including the Israeli-Palestinian struggle
• Her reporting, often sympathetic to the Palestinian cause, made her a well-known and, at times, controversial figure

It was only in adulthood that Murad discovered her royal heritage.

• In 1961, she traveled to India to meet her father for the first time, learning about the tragic fate of her family.
• This revelation fueled her interest in history and identity, leading her to write “De la part de la princesse morte” (On Behalf of the Dead Princess) in 1987.
• The book, based on her mother’s life, became a bestseller in France, selling over 1.2 million copies and being translated into more than 20 languages.

CIA informant allegations and Kenize Murad’s response

Murad’s decades-long career as a war correspondent took her to some of the world’s most dangerous conflict zones. The recent allegations in “The Times” claim that she was recruited by the CIA in 1973, though Murad has firmly denied these claims.

The report alleges that her name appeared in shredded U.S. embassy documents recovered in Tehran after the 1979 Iranian Revolution. According to Murad, she was approached by a CIA diplomat but rejected any involvement.

Her response to the allegations is clear:

I should not have even let them believe I could work for them. I was afraid to confront the agent, so I simply sent a letter expressing my refusal.

The timing of “The Times” report, amid growing tensions between Western powers, the Middle East, and Türkiye, raises questions about its purpose. Some observers suggest that Murad’s vocal support for Palestine and her reporting on injustices against Muslims in South Asia may have made her a target for discrediting campaigns.

Kenize Murad’s work as a journalist and reporting on war and injustice

Kenize Murad’s life has been defined by resilience and a relentless pursuit of truth. Her journalism has brought attention to war crimes, human rights abuses, and the experiences of displaced communities. She spent 15 years reporting from the Middle East, covering conflicts in Jerusalem, Gaza, and refugee camps.

Reflecting on her time reporting in Palestine, she once said:

The Palestinian intifada left an indelible mark on me. Seeing people suffer, witnessing them being shot… I myself faced the danger of being shot in Palestine more than once.

Murad compiled her experiences into a book titled “Our Sacred Land: Voices of the Palestine-Israeli Conflict,” offering a firsthand account of the conflict.

Why accusations against Kenize Murad are resurfacing now

Murad was accused of being an intelligence informant once before during her early career in South Asia. In 1971, while reporting on the war between India and Pakistan, she was arrested in Pakistan on suspicions of espionage. She was later released on the orders of Pakistani Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

The resurfacing of accusations against her now, decades later, raises concerns about the motivations behind these claims. Murad has always been open about her political stance, and her writings have often exposed the realities of war, particularly in regions where Western powers have strong interests.

The latest claims in “The Times “suggest a deliberate effort to cast doubt on her credibility at a time when discussions about Western involvement in the Middle East are intensifying. Whether these accusations hold any truth or are part of a broader political effort to undermine her work remains a subject of debate.