Region | Egypt
Lawyer quits Suzan murder case over legal tussle
Al Sayyed blames lack of co-ordination among defence lawyers for decision to pull out of team.
- By Ramadan Al Sherbini, Correspondent
- Published: 23:53 September 22, 2008
Cairo: A prominent Egyptian lawyer on Monday on the defence team for Hesham Tala'at Mustafa, the Egyptian businessman charged with involvement in the murder of Lebanese singer Suzan Tamim, has quit, Gulf News has learned.
"This withdrawal has nothing to do with the case itself. Nor does it reflect my view of Hesham's indictment. I am fully confident that he is innocent," said Shawqi Al Sayyed, a lawyer and an MP, in a statement on Monday. He added that he had informed Hesham of his decision during a visit on Sunday. "He unwillingly approved my request [to quit]," said Al Sayyed.
He attributed his withdrawal to "a lack of coordination" among members of the defence team for Mustafa.
A Cairo criminal court has set October 18 to begin the trial of Mustafa, an ex-chairman of one of Egypt's leading real estate developers, and Mohsin Al Sukkri, a retired policeman, on charges of involvement in killing Suzan in her luxury apartment in Dubai on July 28.
In remarks published in Cairo on Saturday, Fareed Al Deeb, the key lawyer for Mustafa, said that he and Hafez Farhoud were the only members of the defence team for the tycoon.
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