The plot of the Circassian officers (April 1882)

01The plot of the Circassian officers (April 1882)

• The general situation worsened through Khedive Tawfiq's weakness and his submission to foreign influence.
• A plot to assassinate Urabi and the nationalist officers — forty officers — was discovered, organised by some Circassian officers.
• The conspirators were sentenced to permanent exile to the Sudan and stripping of their ranks, decorations and privileges.
• On the advice of the two consuls the Khedive refused to ratify the sentence, lest the Urabists grow stronger — which provoked the Urabists.
• A compromise was reached: in May 1882 the Khedive agreed to exile the conspirators outside Egypt without naming the place, and without stripping their ranks and decorations.