CAIRO (AFP) –
A Cairo court sentenced an Egyptian tycoon and a former policeman to death for the murder in Dubai last year of the businessman's former lover, Lebanese pop diva Suzanne Tamim.
The judge ordered Hisham Talaat Mustafa and retired policeman Mohsen al-Sukkari hanged for respectively ordering and carrying out the brutal slaying of the singer in a luxury Dubai apartment in July.
Mustafa, a stalwart of Egypt's ruling National Democratic Party, was found guilty of paying Sukkari two million dollars to cut the throat of his former lover Tamim, 30.
Chaos erupted in the packed courtroom after the judge read out a short statement and ordered the men's sentences referred to the mufti for confirmation.
Sukkari's face went pale and family members burst into tears as the sentence was read out, ending a case whose mix of wealth, show business and politics has gripped Egypt, where powerful businessmen are rarely seen to face justice.
Taken from here
