In the event that the Court of Cassation accepts the appeal of Egyptian business mogul Hisham Talaat Moustafa and his alleged accomplice Mohsen al-Sokkary, both will be temporarily released, according to judicial sources. The appeal challenges a Cairo Criminal Court sentence delivered Wednesday for the murder of Lebanese singer Suzanne Tamim.
The 2008 amendments to the code of procedure of criminal proceedings stipulate the release of defendants during retrials.
Moustafa’s lawyer Bahaa Abu Shaqa said he will challenge the verdict and request applying the UAE Penal Code to his client. The Tamim murder was perpetrated on Emirati soil.
UAE laws accept blood money in murder cases, thereby waving court penalties.
Earlier reports suggested that Moustafa had paid Tamim’s family US$80 million in compensation for her death.
Moustafa’s second lawyer Farid al-Deeb said the 15-year sentence was better than the initial death sentence. “But we will still appeal it,” he added, saying he continues to aim for acquittal.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
