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Egypt tycoon escapes with jail term
Source: Agencies |
September 29, 2010, Wednesday
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AN Egyptian court handed a billionaire charged with killing his pop star lover a lighter sentence of just 15 years after an earlier trial sentenced him to death, the state news agency said yesterday.
The new sentence of Hisham Talaat Moustafa, a prominent member of Egypt's ruling party, in the brutal murder of a Lebanese singer is likely to spark new accusations of political influence. Moustafa, the builder behind the luxury suburbs for the rich that now ring impoverished Cairo, was close to the powerful son of Egypt's president and has come to symbolize the close bond between businessmen and politicians.
The judge convicted Moustafa for conspiracy to murder of 30-year-old Suzanne Tamim and gave him 15 years in prison. The timing of the verdict came as a surprise because there had been no indication the retrial was ending and the defense had yet to give its summation.
The real estate tycoon was sentenced to death in May 2009 after being convicted of paying a retired Egyptian police officer US$2 million to kill Tamim while she was in Dubai in July 2008. The court in March overturned the conviction and ordered a retrial.
The sentence for the man actually convicted of killing Tamim, Mohsen el-Sukkary, was also reduced to just life in prison, which is 25 years under the Egyptian penal code.
Prison years, under the Egyptian system, are nine months long, meaning that Moustafa could be released in just a few years, counting time served and good behavior.
The sentences can still be appealed by the defendants, the prosecutor or Tamim's family. In May, it was reported that Moustafa had agreed to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation to her family.
The initial allegations shocked Egyptians unused to seeing powerful politicians perceived as untouchable taken to court, and the new lighter sentences are certain to raise charges that Moustafa's influence kept him from the gallows.
"This is the result of the marriage between the regime and the wealthy," said Abdullah el-Sinnawi, the editor of the opposition al-Arabi newspaper. "The regime wants to protect its people."
The new sentence of Hisham Talaat Moustafa, a prominent member of Egypt's ruling party, in the brutal murder of a Lebanese singer is likely to spark new accusations of political influence. Moustafa, the builder behind the luxury suburbs for the rich that now ring impoverished Cairo, was close to the powerful son of Egypt's president and has come to symbolize the close bond between businessmen and politicians.
The judge convicted Moustafa for conspiracy to murder of 30-year-old Suzanne Tamim and gave him 15 years in prison. The timing of the verdict came as a surprise because there had been no indication the retrial was ending and the defense had yet to give its summation.
The real estate tycoon was sentenced to death in May 2009 after being convicted of paying a retired Egyptian police officer US$2 million to kill Tamim while she was in Dubai in July 2008. The court in March overturned the conviction and ordered a retrial.
The sentence for the man actually convicted of killing Tamim, Mohsen el-Sukkary, was also reduced to just life in prison, which is 25 years under the Egyptian penal code.
Prison years, under the Egyptian system, are nine months long, meaning that Moustafa could be released in just a few years, counting time served and good behavior.
The sentences can still be appealed by the defendants, the prosecutor or Tamim's family. In May, it was reported that Moustafa had agreed to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation to her family.
The initial allegations shocked Egyptians unused to seeing powerful politicians perceived as untouchable taken to court, and the new lighter sentences are certain to raise charges that Moustafa's influence kept him from the gallows.
"This is the result of the marriage between the regime and the wealthy," said Abdullah el-Sinnawi, the editor of the opposition al-Arabi newspaper. "The regime wants to protect its people."
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