Newsreel

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Not the final word

GRAND Mufti of Egypt Sheikh Ali Gomaa last week gave the green light to the execution of billionaire business tycoon Hisham Talaat Mustafa, who was found guilty in May of conspiracy to kill Lebanese pop singer Suzanne Tamim. Gomaa also agreed that former state security officer Mohsen El-Sukkari be given the death sentence. El-Sukkari was found guilty of the murder after being paid by Mustafa.

However, Mustafa's lawyers say the case is not over. His defence team is in the process of contesting the ruling of Bab Al-Khalq Criminal Court before the Cassation Court. It is up to the Court of Cassation to either refuse the grounds for an appeal and uphold the ruling or order a retrial.

Tamim was murdered on 28 July last year in an exclusive residential compound in Dubai. The billionaire was arrested on 2 September following the lifting of his parliamentary immunity. The trial opened on 18 October, igniting a media frenzy across the Middle East.

Negotiations are reportedly being conducted between Mustafa's defence team and Tamim's family to accept blood money, a practice not applicable in Egyptian law.

Maadi butcher sentenced

A 21-YEAR-old, dubbed "the butcher of Maadi", has been sentenced to 45 years in prison for sexually assaulting nine women. On Tuesday the presiding judge in the Cairo Criminal Court said Mohamed Mustafa had harassed and assaulted women, sometimes grabbing them and in some instances used a knife. The attacks occurred between December 2006 until his arrest in February this year. It was in Maadi where he assaulted the women.

Since early Tuesday, the police cordoned off the court building and streets leading to it.

The suspect's relatives were not allowed in the courtroom. Following the verdict, Mustafa's mother broke down in hysteria, claiming her son was innocent. His sister appeared in shock and remained silent.

Death to seven

BENHA Criminal Court on Tuesday sentenced seven to death on charges of premeditated murder, possession of unlicensed weapons and spreading panic in Kallafin estate in Benha. Four suspects were sentenced to life imprisonment with hard labour. Eleven other suspects received jail terms ranging from two to 15 years.

The court has confiscated all weapons used in the deadly clash which led to the death of 12 and the injury of 30 others. In its proceedings, the general prosecution called for imposing the harshest penalty upon the suspects for turning the peaceful rural area into a battlefield by exchanging fire, burning houses and exploding gas bombs.

The suspects were escorted from their prison cells to the court amid tight security.

Compiled by Mona El-Nahhas