The Court of Cassation Thursday postponed delivery of its final verdict in the case against businessman Hisham Taalat Mustafa and former police officer Mohsen el-Sokkari until March 4. Mustafa and Sokkari were both sentenced to death by a lesser court for their respective roles in the murder of Lebanese pop singer Suzanne Tamim in Dubai in 2008.
During Thursday’s court session, prosecutors clarified that they had not requested the annulment of the previous ruling, but had rather requested that the court reject appeals filed recently by both defendants.
The session was held amid heavy security, both inside and outside the courtroom. Only lawyers and approved journalists were allowed to attend.
Neither Mustafa nor Sokkari were present at the session. Mustafa’s lawyer, however, could be seen calling his client every half hour to keep him apprised of proceedings.
Lawyers for the defense spoke for eight hours and presented 41 reasons why the court, in their opinion, should annul the death sentence. Among these was that the court that initially issued the verdict did not have jurisdiction over the case, which, they say, should have been heard in a Dubai court.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
