Mustafa denies hand in murder

Cairo: An Egyptian tycoon and an associate pleaded innocent on Saturday to charges that they orchestrated the gruesome murder of a Lebanese pop star in a case that has transfixed the Middle East.

Lebanese singer Suzanne Tamim was stabbed to death in her apartment in Dubai in July. A month later, powerful Egyptian real estate mogul and lawmaker Hesham Tala'at Mustafa was stripped of his parliamentary immunity and arrested for ordering the murder.

Mustafa, together with Mohsen Al Sukkary, who is charged with actually carrying out the murder, appeared together dressed in white track suits in the packed courtroom's defendants' cage.

Evidence

The charges of murder were read out in court and both men affirmed their innocence. "I didn't kill Suzanne. I didn't do it," Al Sukkary said from behind the bars.

Mustafa, surrounded with police in plainclothes inside and outside the cage, responded to the judge by saying, "It didn't happen. I presented all evidence to prove that it didn't."

The two men were separated from each other by a partition inside the cage to prevent any possible scuffles as each is expected to blame the other for the murder. The prosecution then admitted into evidence Tamim's white trousers, a Swiss army knife, fingerprint report, DNA tests, security camera tapes and transcripts of phone conversations between the two men allegedly about the murder.

Lawyers for Mustafa contended that he should be released on bail, which the judge refused. "This is very dangerous not only on the defendant but on his 11 companies ... and the 60,000 employees and workers who work for him," said Hafiz Farhoud, Mustafa's lawyer, warning of the repercussions of keeping Mustafa in prison during trial. The prosecution is expected to present a dozen witnesses, including policemen from the UAE, where Tamim was murdered. Security was tight outside the courtroom with dozens of riot police surrounding the area, often scuffling with the large numbers of journalists covering the trial.

Sensation

Tamim's slaying caught millions of Egyptians and Arabs across the region by surprise, not only because of the alleged involvement of the real estate mogul and well-connected businessman in a murder case, but in the mere arrest of persons known as those cannot be touched.

Mustafa, who is close to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's son Jamal is one of Egypt's top billionaires, the owner of luxury hotels and beach resorts and a leading force in building Western-style suburbs ringing Cairo for the upper class. The 30-year-old singer, famed for her striking green eyes, was found dead in her Dubai apartment in July, with multiple stab wounds and a 20-centimetre slash across her throat.

Egypt's public prosecutor has accused the tycoon of contracting for the singer's killing by paying $2 million (Dh7.34 million) to Al Sukkary, a former Egyptian State Security officer.

Relationship

Al Sukkary worked at one of Egypt's Four Seasons Hotels, owned by Mustafa. The singer had moved to Dubai, friends say, to break off her relationship with Mustafa, who is married. She rose to stardom in the late 1990s but then hit troubled times, separating from her Lebanese husband-manager who filed a series of lawsuits against her.

According to Dubai investigators, Al Sukkary stalked the singer on the morning of July 28 to her apartment in the swanky Dubai Marina complex.

He used the ID of a management company that sold her the apartment to gain entry, police say. He stabbed her repeatedly, then dumped his overalls and cap in a trash bin outside the building, officials said. The case has been adjourned until November 15.