CAIRO // Egyptian judges are expected to decide today whether to allow appeals by two men sentenced to death for the murder of the singer Suzanne Tamim in Dubai. Judges from the Cassation Court will decide whether the appeals by Hesham Talaat Moustafa, 50, an Egyptian property tycoon and senior member of the ruling National Democratic Party, and Mohsen el Sokari, 40, a former state security officer, will be heard.
They were sentenced to death by the Cairo Criminal Court on May 21 of last year after Moustafa was charged with hiring, inciting and assisting el Sokari to kill Tamim in July 2008. Moustafa was said to have paid el Sokari US$2 million (Dh7.3m) to murder the 30-year-old Lebanese singer, with whom he was romantically linked. Tamim was found dead on July 28, 2008. Her throat had been slit and she was lying in a pool of blood at the entrance to her flat at the Jumeirah Beach Residence.
The defendants' lawyers lodged the appeals in August. It usually takes six months to a year after the initial appeal is lodged for the Cassation Court to decide whether or not to allow it to proceed. Judge Adel Abdel Hamid, the new head of the Cassation Court, is leading the panel that will make the decision. He has a reputation for accepting appeals in death sentence cases. While these decisions often take a day, there is no guarantee it will be delivered that quickly.
If the men's appeals are accepted, it would mean a new trial within two months, by a different three-judge panel at the criminal court. The defendants would remain in prison until the new trial starts and while it is heard. If the appeals are rejected, the death sentences are upheld and will be carried out shortly after the defendant and his family are notified. In Egypt, death sentences are carried out by hanging for ordinary citizens and by firing squad for military officers.
Dubai Police tracked down el Sokari using footage from closed circuit television pictures from Tamim's building and a bloodstained T-shirt and pair of black jogging bottoms that were dumped in a rubbish bin on the floor below her apartment. The blood was identified as the singer's and traces of el Sokari's DNA were also found on the clothing. Mohammed Abu Shoqa, one of Moustafa's appeal lawyers, claimed some of the trial evidence, including the testimony by the victim's father and an Egyptian police officer, "violated legal procedures".
If the appeals are unsuccessful, the men can appeal directly to the prosecutor general or to the president. Under Egyptian law, appeals can be based on legal grounds only and are decided by panels of five or seven judges from the Court of Cassation. Mr Abu Shoqa and his father, Bahaa, are well-known appeal lawyers. They joined Moustafa's defence team after the death verdict was confirmed on June 25.
Their 31-point appeal runs more than 346 pages, and attempts to refute the criminal's court's reliance on evidence from Dubai Police's investigators and forensic science experts. Both men's defence teams lodged appeals during their trial. The lawyers are believed to have earned millions of Egyptian pounds in the high-profile case. The defendants have been wearing red prison jumpsuits, signifying that they had been sentenced to death. They are in separate jails.
They are not required, nor expected, to attend court today. Their trial, which began on October 18, 2008, was dubbed by the media one "of passion and blood" and "of money and power". From November 2008 until the trial ended, on March 18 last year, publication of the proceedings was banned, although journalists were allowed to attend. @Email:nmagd@thenational.ae
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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.
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Tax authority targets shisha levy evasion
The Federal Tax Authority will track shisha imports with electronic markers to protect customers and ensure levies have been paid.
Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director of the tax authority, on Sunday said the move is to "prevent tax evasion and support the authority’s tax collection efforts".
The scheme’s first phase, which came into effect on 1st January, 2019, covers all types of imported and domestically produced and distributed cigarettes. As of May 1, importing any type of cigarettes without the digital marks will be prohibited.
He said the latest phase will see imported and locally produced shisha tobacco tracked by the final quarter of this year.
"The FTA also maintains ongoing communication with concerned companies, to help them adapt their systems to meet our requirements and coordinate between all parties involved," he said.
As with cigarettes, shisha was hit with a 100 per cent tax in October 2017, though manufacturers and cafes absorbed some of the costs to prevent prices doubling.
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
A cheaper choice
Vanuatu: $130,000
Why on earth pick Vanuatu? Easy. The South Pacific country has no income tax, wealth tax, capital gains or inheritance tax. And in 2015, when it was hit by Cyclone Pam, it signed an agreement with the EU that gave it some serious passport power.
Cost: A minimum investment of $130,000 for a family of up to four, plus $25,000 in fees.
Criteria: Applicants must have a minimum net worth of $250,000. The process take six to eight weeks, after which the investor must travel to Vanuatu or Hong Kong to take the oath of allegiance. Citizenship and passport are normally provided on the same day.
Benefits: No tax, no restrictions on dual citizenship, no requirement to visit or reside to retain a passport. Visa-free access to 129 countries.
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
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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
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
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Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
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Price: From Dh439,000
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Asia Cup Qualifier
Final
UAE v Hong Kong
TV:
Live on OSN Cricket HD. Coverage starts at 5.30am
