CAIRO // It was a crime that stunned the Arab world. A glamorous and beautiful young singer found brutally murdered in her Dubai apartment and her lover, one of Egypt's most rich and powerful businessmen, in the dock accused of having her throat slit.
The retrial came to a dramatic and abrupt ending yesterday as the panel of three judges issued a surprise guilty verdict without hearing closing arguments from the business magnate's defence team. It was the conclusion of a complex tale of illicit love, money and revenge, which came to light in July 2008 with the discovery of the blood-soaked body of the pop diva Suzanne Tamim at her home in Jumeirah Beach Residence in Dubai.
The singer, who was 30 when she died, rose to prominence when she won a television talent competition and she went on to launch a pop career in 1996. She attended a New Year's Eve party in Cairo in 2005, where she caught the attention of the billionaire Hisham Talaat Moustafa, the former chairman of the Talaat Moustafa Group, Egypt's largest property developer. Although married with children, Moustafa began a passionate affair with the young singer, but it did not last. By 2008, she had moved to Dubai and become involved with Riyadh al Azzawi, an Iraqi-British kick-boxer.
The couple moved into an apartment in the Rimal complex in JBR on July 18. Ten days later the singer was dead. Her cousin found her with multiple stab wounds to her body and her throat slit, lying in a pool of blood at the entrance to their 22nd-floor flat. Dubai police analysis of security cameras identified Mohsen el Sokari, a 41-year-old former Egyptian state security officer, with further damning evidence coming in a blood-soaked T-shirt and jogging bottoms found dumped in a rubbish bin on a floor below Tamim's.
Police found the clothes had been sold at Mercato Mall on Jumeirah Beach Road, where they discovered that el Sokari had used his MasterCard to buy them, along with a T-shirt, a pair of Nike shoes and a buck knife, the day before the murder. Forensic tests found his DNA on the clothes. He fled the UAE hours after the killing but was arrested on August 6 in Egypt. Under interrogation, he admitted that he had been paid $2 million (Dh7.3 million) by Moustafa to kill Tamim.
Days after the murder, el Sokari went to the Four Seasons Hotel in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, which is owned by Moustafa and where the killer worked as security manager until 2004. There, Moustafa gave him the agreed $2 million fee for the killing. Unknown to the billionaire, el Sokari used his mobile phone to record five incriminating telephone calls with Moustafa. Moustafa, a key member of Egypt's ruling National Democratic Party and a member of the Shura Council, the country's upper house of parliament, was interrogated upon his return from summer holiday and stripped of parliamentary immunity, then arrested.
He denied any part in the crime, blaming the allegations on "rumours from competition against our company locally and internationally". He also denied "any special relations or ties" with, or giving money to, el Sokari and said that he had "humanly sympathised with Suzanne Tamim who was going through family problems". The two men were convicted of murder in May last year and sentenced to death by hanging. They appealed and were granted the retrial, which began in April and concluded yesterday with sentences of 15 years for Moustafa and 28 years for el Sokari for murder and possession of a gun and ammunition.
They may still launch a final appeal but must wait until the panel of judges release their report explaining their verdict, which is not expected until October 27.
nmagd@thenational.ae
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Power: 110 horsepower
Torque: 147Nm
Price: From Dh59,700
On sale: now
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
MATCH INFO
Champions League quarter-final, first leg
Ajax v Juventus, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)
Match on BeIN Sports
A new relationship with the old country
Treaty of Friendship between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates
The United kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates; Considering that the United Arab Emirates has assumed full responsibility as a sovereign and independent State; Determined that the long-standing and traditional relations of close friendship and cooperation between their peoples shall continue; Desiring to give expression to this intention in the form of a Treaty Friendship; Have agreed as follows:
ARTICLE 1 The relations between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates shall be governed by a spirit of close friendship. In recognition of this, the Contracting Parties, conscious of their common interest in the peace and stability of the region, shall: (a) consult together on matters of mutual concern in time of need; (b) settle all their disputes by peaceful means in conformity with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations.
ARTICLE 2 The Contracting Parties shall encourage education, scientific and cultural cooperation between the two States in accordance with arrangements to be agreed. Such arrangements shall cover among other things: (a) the promotion of mutual understanding of their respective cultures, civilisations and languages, the promotion of contacts among professional bodies, universities and cultural institutions; (c) the encouragement of technical, scientific and cultural exchanges.
ARTICLE 3 The Contracting Parties shall maintain the close relationship already existing between them in the field of trade and commerce. Representatives of the Contracting Parties shall meet from time to time to consider means by which such relations can be further developed and strengthened, including the possibility of concluding treaties or agreements on matters of mutual concern.
ARTICLE 4 This Treaty shall enter into force on today’s date and shall remain in force for a period of ten years. Unless twelve months before the expiry of the said period of ten years either Contracting Party shall have given notice to the other of its intention to terminate the Treaty, this Treaty shall remain in force thereafter until the expiry of twelve months from the date on which notice of such intention is given.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned have signed this Treaty.
DONE in duplicate at Dubai the second day of December 1971AD, corresponding to the fifteenth day of Shawwal 1391H, in the English and Arabic languages, both texts being equally authoritative.
Signed
Geoffrey Arthur Sheikh Zayed
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League, semi-final result:
Liverpool 4-0 Barcelona
Liverpool win 4-3 on aggregate
Champions Legaue final: June 1, Madrid
MATCH INFO
What: India v Afghanistan, first Test
When: Starts Thursday
Where: M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengalaru
Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Squid Game season two
Director: Hwang Dong-hyuk
Stars: Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon and Lee Byung-hun
Rating: 4.5/5
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Banned items
Dubai Police has also issued a list of banned items at the ground on Sunday. These include:
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Political flags or banners
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Bikes, skateboards or scooters
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
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RECORD%20BREAKER
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Kathryn Hawkes of House of Hawkes on being a good guest (because we’ve all had bad ones)
- Arrive with a thank you gift, or make sure you have one for your host by the time you leave.
- Offer to buy groceries, cook them a meal or take your hosts out for dinner.
- Help out around the house.
- Entertain yourself so that your hosts don’t feel that they constantly need to.
- Leave no trace of your stay – if you’ve borrowed a book, return it to where you found it.
- Offer to strip the bed before you go.
Racecard
6.30pm: The Madjani Stakes (PA) Group 3 Dh175,000 (Dirt) 1,900m
7.05pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,400m
7.40pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,600m
8.15pm: Handicap (TB) Dh190,000 (D) 1,200m
8.50pm: Dubai Creek Mile (TB) Listed Dh265,000 (D) 1,600m
9.25pm: Handicap (TB) Dh190,000 (D) 1,600m
The National selections
6.30pm: Chaddad
7.05pm: Down On Da Bayou
7.40pm: Mass Media
8.15pm: Rafal
8.50pm: Yulong Warrior
9.25pm: Chiefdom
The specs
Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed
Power: 271 and 409 horsepower
Torque: 385 and 650Nm
Price: from Dh229,900 to Dh355,000
Company%20profile
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