Death penalty reversed for Egyptian tycoon - The Boston Globe

Death penalty reversed for Egyptian tycoon - The Boston Globe: "Egyptian real estate tycoon accused of hiring a hit man to kill his pop-star lover was spared the death penalty yesterday after a retrial changed his original sentence to 15 years in prison.
The reduced sentence of Hisham Talaat Moustafa, a prominent member of Egypt’s ruling party, for the brutal murder of a Lebanese singer is likely to spark new accusations of political influence. Moustafa, the builder behind the luxury suburbs for the rich that now ring impoverished Cairo, was close to the powerful son of Egypt’s president and has come to symbolize the close bond between businessmen and politicians.
The judge convicted Moustafa for conspiracy to murder the 30-year-old Suzanne Tamim and gave him 15 years in prison. The timing of the verdict came as a surprise because there had been no indication the retrial was ending and the defense still had more witnesses."