Tycoon gets death for singer slaying
Güncelleme Tarihi:
The Associated Press
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mayıs 22, 2009 00:00
CAIRO - A real estate mogul and a influent political figure with ties to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's son was sentenced to death yesterday for ordering the slaying of a Lebanese pop star in a case that sparked a media frenzy in a country where the elite is often perceived as being above the law.
Hisham Talaat Moustafa, a member of the ruling National Democratic Party, was accused of paying a former Egyptian police officer $2 million to kill Suzanne Tamim while she was in Dubai. Moustafa, who is married, and Tamim, who was 30 at the time of her death last July, were lovers before the relationship soured.
The former officer, Mohsen el-Sukkary, was also convicted and sentenced to death in a court session that quickly turned chaotic as police and Moustafa's relatives clashed with reporters scrambling for a reaction from the defendants to the verdict.
Moustafa's two daughters burst into tears after the verdict, and his sister fainted. "This verdict is cruel," Sameer el-Shishtawi, one of Moustafa's lawyers said outside the court. He said he would appeal and was confident the verdict would be overturned.
The former officer, Mohsen el-Sukkary, was also convicted and sentenced to death in a court session that quickly turned chaotic as police and Moustafa's relatives clashed with reporters scrambling for a reaction from the defendants to the verdict.
Moustafa's two daughters burst into tears after the verdict, and his sister fainted. "This verdict is cruel," Sameer el-Shishtawi, one of Moustafa's lawyers said outside the court. He said he would appeal and was confident the verdict would be overturned.