Appeals lodged over Tamim murder

Suzanne Tamim, the murdered Lebanese singer, with her husband, Riyadh Alazzawi.

CAIRO // Lawyers for the two Egyptians sentenced to death for the murder of Suzanne Tamim, the Lebanese singer, lodged appeals yesterday, one day inside the time limit. Farid el Deeb, acting for the tycoon and politician Hisham Talaat Moustafa, and Atef el Manawi, for Mohsen el Sokari, a former state security officer, both complained in the 346-page, 31-point appeal of the Cairo court's reliance on evidence by investigators and forensic science experts affiliated to Dubai Police.

"I've been working on appeals cases since 1976, and never saw a case full of such legal and reasoning mistakes," said Mr el Deeb. The appeal process could last from six months to a year. If successful, it will lead to a new trial. Bahaa Abu Shaqa and his son Mohammed, who began acting for Moustafa after the death sentence, submitted a separate appeal on Saturday. "Our appeal is based on 28 reasons; 10 of them will be a surprise," Mr Abu Shaqa senior said without elaborating.

Mr el Deeb complained that the Abu Shaqas had been acting as "competitors" and not co-ordinating the appeals. Mr Abu Shaqas said: "Appeals don'wt need co-ordination, but concentrated effort." Moustafa, a 49-year-old property tycoon and senior member of Egypt's ruling party, was found guilty of paying el Sokari, 40, US$2million (Dh7.3m) to kill Tamim. Both men were sentenced to death on June 25. The 30-year-old singer was found dead on July 28 last year. Her throat had been slit and she was lying in a pool of blood at the entrance to her flat in Jumeirah Beach Residence, Dubai.