Elghanian was arrested on March 16, 1979, after returning. On May 8, he was tried (according to his granddaughter, his trial lasted less than 20 minutes) and convicted of a number of crimes, including meeting with Israeli leaders. He was sentenced to death, with his execution carried out before dawn the next day. All of the property belonging to the Elghanian family was confiscated by the state. Elghanian’s death contributed to the departure of more than three-quarters of the country’s 80,000 Jews.
