It's a case of sex , power and murder involving an Egyptian
real-estate tycoon, an ex-police officer and a Lebanese pop
star.
Hisham Talaat Mustafa was a man who had it all: money, close
ties to the son of the president, a prominent position within
Egypt's ruling party and a seat in parliament. Some say he was
made by the system.
Suzane Tamim was a rising star who had been involved with
Mustafa before moving to Dubai. Nobody really knows what
happened between the two after their affair ended, but something
pushed Mustafa over the edge so much that he devised a plot to
kill her.
Mustafa called on the services of Mohsen Sokkari, an ex-police
officer who worked for him, investigations showed; lured by the
prospect of $2 million as compensation, Sokkari travelled to
Dubai and stabbed Suzane Tamim to death.
It
was nearly the perfect plan if it weren't for the notorious
Dubai CCTV cameras which caught Sokkari going in and out of the
luxurious Dubai building.
Sokkari's confession
Soon it all unravelled. Sokkari confessed and revealed that he
was acting on behalf of Hisham Talaat Mustafa. It was a shock
that was even felt on the stock exchange market, with shares
dropping and picking up at every twist of the story.
Now all eyes were on the government, Egyptians assumed that
Mustafa would go unpunished because of his connections. But when
the judge sentenced both to death by hanging in May 2009, many
Egyptians were surprised and confused. Is there really one rule
of law for everyone in Egypt?
But their doubts were put to rest on Tuesday when in an
unexpected move, the judge presiding over the appeal case,
reduced Mustafa's sentence to 15 years and Sokkari's to life
imprisonment. It came as a surprise even to the defence team.
The appeals hearings had started last week and on Tuesday, the
judge was supposed to hear from several witnesses, including
some who had travelled from Dubai to testify. He did not even
listen to the defence summation.
One of the reasons that had been given to explain the judge's
swift sentencing is that allegedly Suzane Tamim's family had
dropped their civil claim in return of a hefty compensation. Had
they not, according to a legal expert, the death sentence would
have stayed.
The judge has 30 days to make public his reasoning and explain
why Mustafa and Sokkari got different sentences when they
initially had been given the same punishment. One expert told
us, that according to Egyptian law, inciting a murder equals
commiting the murder.
We
were interviewing someone else when the verdict came out. He
told me: "Now I recognise Egypt!" and went on adding "This is
the first step towards his release".
It's a statement that has been reflected in the press today.
"Saved from hanging" said Al-Shorouk while Al-Destour
claimed "Hisham Talaat will be out of jail soon, either by
presidential pardon or for health reasons."
