An Egyptian court today jailed magnate Hesham Talaat Moustafa for 15 years following a retrial for his role in the murder of a Lebanese singer, after an earlier court ruling sentencing him to death was overturned.
Hesham Talaat Moustafa, a member of parliament in Egypt's ruling party, was sentenced last year to hang along with Muhsen el-Sukkari, the security man whom the tycoon is charged with paying to stab Suzanne Tamim to death in Dubai.
Sukkari was given life in prison for his role in the murder, judge Adel Abdel Salam Gomaa told the court.
Former police officer Mohsen Al-Sukary received a 25-year sentence for killing Ms Tamim on Moustafa's orders, the Cairo-based, state-run Middle East News Agency said.
Both men had been found guilty and sentenced to death before an Egyptian court ordered a retrial in March.
The murder and trial have captivated the media in the Arab world, where politicians and the wealthy are generally perceived to be above punishment. The Egyptian government says the judiciary is independent and its rulings not politically motivated.
Agencies