Suzanne Tamim was well known within the tabloids. Her private life was not considered private. She tried valiantly to not let the tabloids get the best of her. And then her life came to a tragic, gossip-filled end.
Suzanne Tamim was born on September 23rd, 1977 in Beirut, Lebanon. She rose to fame in the Arab world “after winning the top prize in the popular Studio El Fan television show in 1996”, landing her in the spotlight as a popular singer.
She was known both for her looks, and her voice. It was said that her voice was “equally suited to pop tunes and classical Arabic melodies”. Her entire life was also spread across gossip rags constantly. Her career was marred with rumours about a troubled private life. She didn’t have a moment of peace.
And then, at 30 years old, on July 28th, 2008, Suzanne was found dead in her Jumeirah Beach Residence apartment in Dubai.
Some reports say she’d been beheaded. However, her former husband’s lawyer revealed that, according to her death certificate, her throat had been slit. Rumours started flying. Gossip filled the news media. What in the world had happened to Suzanne?
The media couldn’t have enough of the case – her face was plastered all over the news. However, there was one exception. Egypt had placed a judicial ban on media discussion of the case. You see, one of those pesky rumours had it that “a prominent business figure from the government’s inner circle was being investigated for homicide”. Well, the Egyptian government couldn’t be implicated in that. Especially not after it had already attempted to “control the increasingly vociferous independent newspaper sector.”
The ban didn’t quite work. On September 2nd, 2008, Hisham Talaat Moustafa was arrested in Cairo in connection with Suzanne’s murder. Moustafa had, at one time, been Suzanne’s lover.
Moustafa was born in Alexandria, Egypt on December 12th, 1959. He graduated from the University of Alexandria’s College of Commerce with an accounting degree in 1980. He is also the son of Talaat Moustaga – a construction magnate. He also married and had three children – making his relationship with Suzanne a scandalous affair.
Moustafa, a powerful man himself, had very powerful friends in very high places. Not only was he a high-ranking government insider, but he was also a close and personal friend of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Mubarak’s regime had “become notorious for its close links with rich businessmen” – Moustafa definitely fit that bill.
After his arrest, Moustafa admitted to his affair with Suzanne. He told investigators that it had begun in 2004, after the pair had met at a Red Sea resort. He then said he broke off the affair when his mother vehemently opposed. Moustafa was already married, not planning on leaving his family, and came from a religiously conservative Muslim family. His actions were seen as incredibly inappropriate.
It’s unknown why Moustafa took the actions he did, but the results are that Suzanne Tamim was murdered by Mohsen Al-Sukkari, a former policeman hired by Moustafa.
Investigators determined that al-Sukkari followed Suzanne home, and managed to enter her apartment complex with the use of a pilfered ID card that had been registered to the property management company. His blood-soaked clothes were found outside the building.
Despite his power, his money, and his friends, Moustafa was stripped of his parliamentary immunity in order to go through the court process.
The public will never know the details. The judge presiding over the case issued a publication ban on the details. As of November 2008, only the procedural decisions and the final verdict are to be known.
Following a trial, on May 21st, 2009, Moustafa and al-Sukkari were found guilty of murder and sentenced death by hanging. Sepcifically, Moustafa was found guilty of murder through ‘incitement, agreement, and assistance’. An appeal was filed.
On March 4th, 2010, the Supreme Constitutional Court of Egypt “threw out the convictions and sentences against the two convicts and ordered their retrial on a legal technicality”.
The retrial of both defendants began on April 26th.
On September 28th, 2010, Moustafa was re-sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment – a drastic reduction from a death sentence.
Al-Sukkari was also re-sentenced – this time to life in prison, which is 25 years. “Prison years in the Egyptian system are counted as nine months long”.
On health grounds, Moustafa was released from prison in June of 2017. He received a presidential pardon.
Was it an affair gone wrong? Had Moustafa felt slighted? Had he lied about breaking off the affair in his interrogation? We will never know.
But what we do know is that the life of a woman was viciously cut short by a rich and powerful man. And isn’t that always the way it goes?
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Sources:
Egyptian tycoon jailed for murder of Lebanese pop star is freed – The National
A tale of money, murder, and spin – Jack Shenker – The Guardian
Egyptian billionaire convicted of killing pop star lover spared death penalty – The Guardian
Suzanne Tamim Wikipedia page
Hisham Talaat Moustafa Wikipedia page