Region | Egypt
Suzan murder trial brings ruling party under fire
The trial for the murder of Lebanese pop singer Suzan Tamim resumes tomorrow, but those following the case are still deeply divided.
- By Ramadan Al Sherbini, Correspondent
- Published: 00:11 November 14, 2008
Cairo: The trial for the murder of Lebanese pop singer Suzan Tamim resumes tomorrow, but those following the case are still deeply divided.
Hesham Tala'at Mustafa, an Egyptian real-estate mogul and a leading member of the ruling party here, has been accused of ordering the murder of Suzan in Dubai in July.
Mohsin Al Sukkari, a former policeman, claimed that Mustafa, 49, had incited him to kill Tamim for $2 million.
Mustafa, who faces death penalty if convicted, has vehemently denied the charges.
Several groups have been set up on Facebook, a social networking website, defending Mustafa.
"Our hearts are with you, and God willing, you will be acquitted," declares one group that calls itself "Supporters of Man of Charity, Hesham Tala'at Mustafa".
Another group by the name of "Still the Egyptian Stories of Bullying and Horror Continue" not only condemns Mustafa, but also attacks other Egyptian businessmen, describing them as being "bullies who think they're above the law".
This divide reflects the growing pressure on President Hosni Mubarak's ruling National Democratic Party, as they have come under intense scrutiny over a series of government failures - including a deadly rock slide, a fire at the parliament building and the highly publicised trial of business tycoon Mustafa.
"The party does not protect any member suspected of corruption," Jamal Mubarak, the influential son of President Mubarak, told an annual conference of the party held here, earlier this month.
Point, counter-point
"Prosecutors are always helped by the party to bring whoever is suspected of wrongdoing to justice," he added, even as a current trial of a senior politician in the party overshadowed the convention.
"I am innocent and I presented all evidence to prove this," Mustafa told the first hearing of this high-profile trial, which opened in Cairo on October 18. A criminal court will resume the hearing tomorrow amid media frenzy.
Since rumours about Mustafa's alleged involvement in the murder spread, Mubarak's opponents have portrayed the crime as taking the lid "off the illegal marriage of power and wealth" in Egypt.
"Officials of the ruling party and their media are painstakingly trying to dissociate themselves from Mustafa's case, claiming that referring him to the criminal court proves that the [Mubarak] regime observes the law," said Ebrahim Eisa, the editor of the Al Destour newspaper and an outspoken critic of Mubarak. "But this rationale apparently ignores the important question: What law are they referring to? The law in Egypt is enacted and approved not by the people, but by the two Houses of the Parliament, controlled by the ruling party," Eisa wrote.
In this country of 80 million, where around 40 per cent are believed to be living under the poverty line, media reports that Mustafa had apparently spent $12 million on Suzan during their alleged affair, have polarised the Egyptians against the defendant and the business community in general.
Abdul Fadil Sheheta, a street vendor in Cairo, said: "We have never heard that anyone of them has rushed to offer help to the victims of Deweiqa," referring to the rockslide that struck a shantytown here in September, killing more than 100 poor people.
Suzan, who rose to fame in the 1990s, came to Cairo in 2005 after problems with her Lebanese husband Adel Matouq. She met Mustafa, who had reportedly fallen in love with her and tried to get her divorced from Matouq for $1.25 million.
Gory trail
Later, however, having fallen out with the Egyptian tycoon, Suzan left for London where she knew Iraqi-born British wrestler Riyad Al Azawi, according to media reports. Jilted Mustafa then allegedly hired Al Sukkari to track Suzan down in London and then in Dubai, where Suzan was found dead in her luxury apartment on July 28.
incriminating details
Egyptian newspapers published last week, incriminating transcripts revealing a series of phone calls and mobile phone text messages, planning the murder of Suzan Tamim. The transcripts indicate Hesham Tala'at Mustafa and Mohsin Al Sukkari conspired to murder the singer after surveillance over several weeks.
Mustafa suggested: "The best way is to throw her from a balcony." Co-defendant Al Sukkari told Mustafa he was watching Suzan in London while two other men were keeping a watch in Dubai.
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