List of Famous people who died in 2002

Nitish Katara was a 25-year-old Indian business executive in Delhi who was murdered in the early hours of 17 February 2002 by Vikas Yadav. Yadav was the son of influential criminal-politician D. P. Yadav. Katara had recently graduated from the Institute of Management Technology in Ghaziabad where he had fallen in love with his classmate Bharti Yadav, sister of Vikas Yadav. The trial court held that Katara's murder was an honour killing because the family did not approve of their relationship. Vikas and Vishal Yadav were later found guilty by the trial Court and both were given life sentences on 30 May 2008. On 2 April 2014 the Delhi High Court upheld the trial court verdict of life imprisonment for the accused. On 6 February 2015, Delhi High Court on re-appeal on death sentence, extended sentence as 25 years' rigorous life imprisonment without remittance. On 9 September 2015, The Supreme Court of India rejected a plea by Neelam Katara seeking enhancement of sentence to death for Vishal and Vikas Yadav On 3 October 2016, the Supreme Court sentenced Vikas and Vishal Yadav, as well as Sukhdev Pehelwan, the third accused, to 25 years' imprisonment without remission.

Franziska Rochat-Moser was a long-distance runner from Switzerland, who represented her native country at two consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 1992. She won the 1997 New York City Marathon.

Rudolf Karl Augstein was one of the most influential German journalists, a founder and part-owner of Der Spiegel magazine.

Hussein Amin Bicar was one of Egypt's most prominent artists of the 20th century, after graduating from the Cairo higher school of fine arts in 1934, he spent more than 60 years of his life teaching art at schools and universities and then through the press, he is credited for initiating a style of journalistic art that elevated illustrating for news papers to a level close to that of the fine art, he is known for his simple and clear style reflecting the influence of Pharaonic art with its harmony, serenity and mystic. Bicar's journalistic contributions go beyond illustrations to include art criticism and narrative poetry. Being the first Egyptian artist to illustrate Arabic children's books, Bicar has played a major role in establishing and promoting this field.

Naseem Banu was an Indian film actress. She was referred to as Naseem and known as "Beauty Queen" and the "first female superstar" of Indian Cinema. Starting her acting career in the mid-1930s she continued to act till mid-1950s. Her first film was Khoon Ka Khoon (Hamlet) (1935) with Sohrab Modi under whose Minerva Movietone banner she acted for several years. Her high-point came with Modi's Pukar (1939) in which she played the role of Empress Nur Jahan. According to composer Naushad she got the sobriquet Pari-Chehra Naseem through the publicity advertisements of her films. She was the mother of actress Saira Banu and mother-in-law to the actor Dilip Kumar.

Sylvia Rivera was an American gay liberation, and transgender rights activist who was also a noted community worker in New York. Rivera, who identified as a drag queen, participated in demonstrations with the Gay Liberation Front.

Samir Saleh Abdullah, more commonly known as Ibn al-Khattab or Emir Khattab, was a Saudi born mujahid who participated in the First Chechen War and the Second Chechen War.

Rodney Stephen Steiger was an American actor, known for his portrayal of offbeat, often volatile and crazed characters. Cited as "one of Hollywood's most charismatic and dynamic stars," he is closely associated with the art of method acting, embodying the characters he played, which at times led to clashes with directors and co-stars. He starred as Marlon Brando's mobster brother Charley in On the Waterfront (1954), the title character Sol Nazerman in The Pawnbroker (1964), and as police chief Bill Gillespie opposite Sidney Poitier in the film In the Heat of the Night (1967) which won him the Academy Award for Best Actor.

Lawrence James Tierney was an American film and television actor who is best known for his many screen portrayals of mobsters and tough guys, roles that mirrored his own frequent brushes with the law. In 2005, film critic David Kehr of The New York Times described "the hulking Tierney" as "not so much an actor as a frightening force of nature".

Alfred Dregger was a German politician and a leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU).