Suzanne Tamim murder convictions overturned by court
March 4, 2010
An Egyptian court has ordered the retrial of an Egyptian tycoon who was sentenced to death for killing his Lebanese pop star lover.
The court overturned Hisham Talaat Moustafa’s murder conviction on procedural grounds.
He was found guilty last May of paying Mohsen el-Sukkary $2m (£1.3m) to kill Suzanne Tamim while she was in Dubai in July 2008.
Mr Sukkary, a retired police officer, will also be retried.
The case has received widespread attention in Egypt and the wider Middle East, as it involves a famous pop star and a member of an elite often regarded as being above the law.
Thursday’s ruling prompted cheers and clapping from the billionaire tycoon’s relatives in the Cairo courtroom.
Suzanne Tamim rose to fame after appearing on a Lebanese talent show
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Mr Moustafa was a hugely powerful business tycoon, politician and friend of the son of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
He had a relationship with Ms Tamim, who had found fame as the winner of an Arabic television talent show.
Prosecutors at Mr Moustafa’s murder trial said that when Ms Tamim spurned his offer of marriage, he plotted to kill her.
Sukkari, a security guard at a hotel owned by Moustafa, was said to have travelled to Dubai, where he stabbed Ms Tamim to death at her flat.
Appeal lawyers claimed the Dubai police investigation into the murder was flawed.
Source: bbc.co.uk/
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