Murder case set for a retrial
Source: Agencies |
March 5, 2010, Friday
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Print Edition
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AN Egyptian court yesterday ordered the retrial of a real estate mogul sentenced to death for murdering his former lover, a Lebanese pop star, in a case that transfixed the Arab world.
The Cairo appeals court overturned the conviction of Hisham Talaat Moustafa prompting cheers and clapping from the billionaire's relatives in the packed downtown courtroom.
Moustafa was sentenced to death last May after being convicted of paying retired Egyptian police officer Mohsen el-Sukkary US$2 million to kill 30-year-old Suzanne Tamim, while she was in Dubai in July 2008.
El-Sukkary will be retried as well.
The case captivated Egyptians as it involved a member of an elite often viewed as above the law.
Many had wondered if the 50-year-old real estate mogul tied to President Hosni Mubarak's son, Gamal, and an influential member of the ruling party would get away with murder in a region where the rich are often thought to be immune.
The court decision to retry the case is certain to raise charges that Moustafa's influence will keep him from the gallows.
Moustafa, a member of parliament's upper house, the Shura Council, was also a member of the ruling party's policies committee, which the younger Mubarak chairs.
Tamim rose to stardom in the late 1990s on the force of her good looks and voice, but then hit troubled times, separating from her Lebanese husband-manager, who filed a series of lawsuits against her.
Tamim and Moustafa met in 2004 at a Red Sea resort, according to transcripts of Moustafa's interrogation that were widely published in Egyptian newspapers.
El-Sukkary, the former security officer, said in the transcripts in the trial that Moustafa was "always with Tamim," that he kept a hotel suite for her, and that he took her around in his private jet.
During interrogations, Moustafa said he broke up with his former lover Tamim after his mother opposed the couple's marriage plan.
According to Dubai investigators, el-Sukkary stalked Tamim to her apartment. Blood-soaked clothes were found outside the building, and police say the killer's face was captured on security camera footage.
The Cairo appeals court overturned the conviction of Hisham Talaat Moustafa prompting cheers and clapping from the billionaire's relatives in the packed downtown courtroom.
Moustafa was sentenced to death last May after being convicted of paying retired Egyptian police officer Mohsen el-Sukkary US$2 million to kill 30-year-old Suzanne Tamim, while she was in Dubai in July 2008.
El-Sukkary will be retried as well.
The case captivated Egyptians as it involved a member of an elite often viewed as above the law.
Many had wondered if the 50-year-old real estate mogul tied to President Hosni Mubarak's son, Gamal, and an influential member of the ruling party would get away with murder in a region where the rich are often thought to be immune.
The court decision to retry the case is certain to raise charges that Moustafa's influence will keep him from the gallows.
Moustafa, a member of parliament's upper house, the Shura Council, was also a member of the ruling party's policies committee, which the younger Mubarak chairs.
Tamim rose to stardom in the late 1990s on the force of her good looks and voice, but then hit troubled times, separating from her Lebanese husband-manager, who filed a series of lawsuits against her.
Tamim and Moustafa met in 2004 at a Red Sea resort, according to transcripts of Moustafa's interrogation that were widely published in Egyptian newspapers.
El-Sukkary, the former security officer, said in the transcripts in the trial that Moustafa was "always with Tamim," that he kept a hotel suite for her, and that he took her around in his private jet.
During interrogations, Moustafa said he broke up with his former lover Tamim after his mother opposed the couple's marriage plan.
According to Dubai investigators, el-Sukkary stalked Tamim to her apartment. Blood-soaked clothes were found outside the building, and police say the killer's face was captured on security camera footage.
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