Suspending belief
A British Coroner's Court ruling confirming that movie star Soad Hosni committed suicide has failed to convince many of her friends and fans at home. Hanan Sabra reports
Ever since actress Soad Hosni's plunge to her death from a sixth-floor London flat in June 2001, the conspiracy theories have been proffered left and right.
A profound disbelief in the initial conclusion drawn by British authorities -- that Hosni committed suicide -- has been the driving force behind the theories. In fact, Hosni's family was so upset at the idea that they demanded that further investigations be conducted to determine the cause of death. Two years later, and much to the Arab world's dismay, a British court has confirmed the original prognosis.
Two weeks ago, the Coroner's Court at Westminster decided that there were no criminal implications in the actress's death, nor were drugs or alcohol to blame.
Despite the recent announcement, many -- and especially the late actress's family -- remain convinced that some sort of foul play was involved.
Hosni was known as the Arab world's Cinderella. A beautiful film star, she had millions of adoring fans, and is remembered for dozens of landmark roles. Overweight, ill and depressed, she had been living in London for the seven years prior to her death. The rumour in vogue, suggested by some members of Hosni's family and friends, is that she was writing her memoirs, which, the conspiracy theory goes, might have contained revelations causing her murder.
Hosni's friend Nadia Youssri, the occupant of the Stewart Tower flat from which Hosni fell, has repeatedly denied the claims that Hosni was working on her memoirs. Youssri has become such a controversial figure that a group of Egyptian actors and actresses, via their union, accused her of murder.
A series of articles by Egyptian writer Mounir Motawe' also caught the investigation's attention. Motawe' claimed that he received an anonymous tip indicating that someone -- other than Youssri and Hosni -- had a third key to Youssri's apartment.
In London, the prosecutor asked the criminal investigation unit of the British police to contact both the Egyptian Prosecutor-General and the criminal investigation unit of the Egyptian police for more information about the alleged third key, as well as any other clues that may have appeared in the Egyptian press.
No information, however, was forthcoming from the Egyptian side, until this June, when a report was finally sent to London. At that point, the British court ruled that no new concrete evidence had appeared to indicate that the death had resulted from anything other than suicide.
Much of the confusion surrounding the case was recently brought to the surface during a series of TV programmes produced and hosted by Hosni's longtime friend, the veteran entertainer Samir Sabri. Sabri shot the shows in England, in the places where Hosni lived during her 7- year stay, as well as at the hospital where she was being treated. Sabri also interviewed many of those Hosni had come into contact with, including her doctors and some of her friends.
Sabri, however, does not claim to be investigating the case. He told Al-Ahram Weekly that he was more interested in presenting Hosni as a human being. "As a friend and colleague of 25 years," he said, "I can assure you that Hosni was religious enough not to commit suicide." He also asserted that she had been planning to perform the Hajj, or Muslim pilgrimage, "which totally contradicts the idea of committing suicide".
Another friend of the late actress, who chose to remain anonymous, said that although Hosni may have been moody as an actress and as a person "she was very traditional, and would never choose such a sorrowful ending to her life."
Film star Youssra, who worked with Hosni on her final film, Al-Ra'ie wal Nesaa, also expressed disbelief. At the same time, Youssra said she wished the whole matter would go away, as it was only serving to tarnish Hosni's image.
Hosni's sister Janja also refuses to believe that Hosni could have killed herself. Janja told the Weekly that she had been the last person Hosni spoke to by phone, just a few hours before the tragedy. She said that she could never accept the court's conclusion, "and would continue to pursue the case, regardless of the expenses, until I and lawyer Assem Qandil find out the truth".
She said that "the [court] ruling is unfair and it will negatively affect Soad Hosni's history and image as one of Egypt's most beloved movie stars."
Rulings made by the Coroner's Court cannot be appealed, unless concrete evidence is delivered to British police that would justify the reopening of the investigation.
Nonetheless, Qandil, the lawyer, was quoted extensively in the Arabic press last week as saying that he planned to pursue the case further because he had "proof that she didn't commit suicide". According to Qandil, several elements of the case were not fully examined by the court, including Hosni's mobile phone records, and several important witnesses whose testimony had been refused by the court.
Qandil will certainly be facing an uphill battle, however, since the court had also established that even Qandil's presence at the hearing was not required.
