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An Egyptian court sentenced tycoon Hisham Talaat Mustafa and former police officer Mohsen al-Sukkari to death for the killing of Lebanese singer Suzanne Tamim.
The judge ordered Mustafa and al-Sukkari hanged for respectively ordering and carrying out Tamim”s brutal killing.
Mustafa was arrested in September and charged with ordering and paying 2 million dollars in cash for the murder of Tamim at her upmarket flat in Dubai on July 28, Egyptian prosecutor Abdel Meguid Mahmoud said at the time.
Mustafa, a stalwart of the ruling National Democratic Party and member of the Shura Council, Egypt”s upper house, runs the Talaat Mustafa Group real estate company worth several billion dollars.
Tamim, who rose to fame after winning a Lebanese talent show in 1996, was stabbed several times and reportedly decapitated in her flat.
Her life had been marred by domestic disputes, including a rocky marriage with her second husband and agent who had accused her in 2004 of being behind an attempt on his life.
Media reports have said the tycoon offered Tamim 50 million dollars to marry him. Egyptian media said the singer had a relationship with Mustafa over a three-year period that ended several months before her death.
The case captivated Egyptians as it involved a member of elite often viewed as above the law.
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. The men, however, have the right to appeal.
Mustafa”s two daughters burst into tears after the ruling and his sister fainted.