Suzanne Tamim
Encyclopedia
Suzanne Tamim was a Lebanese
singer who rose to fame in the Arab world
after winning the top prize in the popular Studio El Fan
television show in 1996.
from her first husband, Ali Muzannar, flooded the Arab media. Tamim later married Lebanese impresario and producer Adel Matouk, who became her manager. Once they divorced, Tamim was thought to have fled from her home in Beirut to Egypt after Matouk filed a series of lawsuits against her, charging her with embezzlement
, fraud
, slander, and libel. Reports say she disappeared from public view in Cairo, Egypt
in 2007 and was thought to be living in Dubai
's exclusive Jumeirah
district.
, she was hailed not only for her beauty but also for a voice that was equally suited to pop tunes and classical Arabic melodies. Tamim's last album was produced in 2002 by Rotana
and called Saken Alby. It went on to establish sales records. Her last song, "Lovers", recorded in 2006, was dedicated to the memory of slain Lebanese
Prime Minister Rafik Hariri
.
in her apartment in Dubai
on July 28, 2008. Although it was reported that she had been beheaded
, the lawyer of her former husband revealed that her death certificate indicates her throat was slit. At the time of her death, she had reportedly been married to Iraqi-born
British kickboxing
champion Riyadh Al-Azzawi
for about 18 months.
in the Shura Council
Hisham Talaat Moustafa
was arrested in Cairo. The son of Egyptian tycoon Talaat Mostafa, Hisham Moustafa was charged with paying a hitman
, Mohsen al-Sukkari
, to have Tamim killed. On May 21, 2009, Moustafa and al-Sukkari were found guilty of Tamim's murder and capital punishment by hanging
in Cairo. An Egyptian court confirmed their sentences on June 25, 2009. However, on March 4, 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. After the retrial, Moustafa was sentenced to 15 years. His co-defendant, al-Sukkari, had his sentence reduced to life in prison
. There were reports that Moustafa had escape
d from prison during the 2011 Egyptian protests.
Al-Sukkari, the alleged hitman, was a 39-year-old former policeman from Egypt. He was arrested as the alleged murderer in early August in Cairo. Al-Sukkari, whose name was being withheld, was said to have died in police custody soon after his arrest
; however, the police subsequently produced him publicly. The alleged killer — who had apparently confessed to the murder - denied any connection to her death. Al-Sukkari was subsequently indicted, along with Moustafa, on charges of murder and for allegedly receiving $2 million from Moustafa for the killing.
Although Egyptian newspapers initially reported freely about the death, once the case was linked to the businessman the Attorney General forbade reporting about the case. An edition of a newspaper that defied the order was confiscated. Five Egyptian journalists were also charged with breaching the gag order
during the trial.
Lebanese people
The Lebanese people are a nation and ethnic group of Levantine people originating in what is today the country of Lebanon, including those who had inhabited Mount Lebanon prior to the creation of the modern Lebanese state....
singer who rose to fame in the Arab world
Arab world
The Arab world refers to Arabic-speaking states, territories and populations in North Africa, Western Asia and elsewhere.The standard definition of the Arab world comprises the 22 states and territories of the Arab League stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Arabian Sea in the...
after winning the top prize in the popular Studio El Fan
Studio el fan
Studio El Fan was a Lebanese talent show broadcast on Télé Liban during the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s in Lebanon and throughout the Arab world. Like the Olympics, the show ran every four years for an entire calendar year. Contestants from all over Lebanon competed. The best contestants in the...
television show in 1996.
Biography
Tamim's career was marred by rumours of a troubled private life. News about her divorceDivorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
from her first husband, Ali Muzannar, flooded the Arab media. Tamim later married Lebanese impresario and producer Adel Matouk, who became her manager. Once they divorced, Tamim was thought to have fled from her home in Beirut to Egypt after Matouk filed a series of lawsuits against her, charging her with embezzlement
Embezzlement
Embezzlement is the act of dishonestly appropriating or secreting assets by one or more individuals to whom such assets have been entrusted....
, fraud
Fraud
In criminal law, a fraud is an intentional deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual; the related adjective is fraudulent. The specific legal definition varies by legal jurisdiction. Fraud is a crime, and also a civil law violation...
, slander, and libel. Reports say she disappeared from public view in Cairo, Egypt
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
in 2007 and was thought to be living in Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
's exclusive Jumeirah
Jumeirah
Jumeirah literally means "beautiful." It is a coastal residential area in Dubai, United Arab Emirates mainly comprising low rise private dwellings. It is administratively divided into three neighborhoods titled "Jumeirah 1," Jumeirah 2" and "Jumeirah 3." It has both expensive and large detached...
district.
Musical career
After winning a Gold Medal on Studio El FanStudio el fan
Studio El Fan was a Lebanese talent show broadcast on Télé Liban during the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s in Lebanon and throughout the Arab world. Like the Olympics, the show ran every four years for an entire calendar year. Contestants from all over Lebanon competed. The best contestants in the...
, she was hailed not only for her beauty but also for a voice that was equally suited to pop tunes and classical Arabic melodies. Tamim's last album was produced in 2002 by Rotana
Rotana Records
Rotana Records is the Arab World's largest record label. It is owned by the Rotana Group, established by the Saudi Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, who sometimes personally signs artists to the label. Rotana Records is part of a huge media empire that includes a film production company, a magazine in...
and called Saken Alby. It went on to establish sales records. Her last song, "Lovers", recorded in 2006, was dedicated to the memory of slain Lebanese
Lebanese people
The Lebanese people are a nation and ethnic group of Levantine people originating in what is today the country of Lebanon, including those who had inhabited Mount Lebanon prior to the creation of the modern Lebanese state....
Prime Minister Rafik Hariri
Rafik Hariri
Rafic Baha El Deen Al-Hariri , was a business tycoon and the Prime Minister of Lebanon from 1992 to 1998 and again from 2000 until his resignation, 20 October 2004.He headed five cabinets during his tenure...
.
Death
Suzanne Tamim was found murderedMurder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
in her apartment in Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
on July 28, 2008. Although it was reported that she had been beheaded
Decapitation
Decapitation is the separation of the head from the body. Beheading typically refers to the act of intentional decapitation, e.g., as a means of murder or execution; it may be accomplished, for example, with an axe, sword, knife, wire, or by other more sophisticated means such as a guillotine...
, the lawyer of her former husband revealed that her death certificate indicates her throat was slit. At the time of her death, she had reportedly been married to Iraqi-born
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
British kickboxing
Kickboxing
Kickboxing refers to a group of martial arts and stand-up combat sports based on kicking and punching, historically developed from karate, Muay Thai and western boxing....
champion Riyadh Al-Azzawi
Riyadh Al-Azzawi
Riyadh Al-Azzawi is an Iraqi-British kickboxer and the 2008 World Kickboxing Network World Champion after a fight against 3-times world champion Tomasz Borowiec in the 91 kg category on February 12, 2008, becoming the first-ever Arab World Champion in heavyweight kickboxing with a record...
for about 18 months.
Murder Trials
On September 2, 2008, prominent Egyptian businessman and lawmakerLegislator
A legislator is a person who writes and passes laws, especially someone who is a member of a legislature. Legislators are usually politicians and are often elected by the people...
in the Shura Council
Shura Council
The Shura Council is the upper house of Egyptian bicameral Parliament. Its name roughly translates into English as "the Consultative Council". The lower house of parliament is the People's Assembly....
Hisham Talaat Moustafa
Hisham Talaat Moustafa
Hisham Talaat Moustafa is an Egyptian businessman who had been elected in 2004 to the Shura Council in the Parliament of Egypt. As the former chairman and former head of the Real Estate Branch of the Talaat Moustafa Group, his net worth was estimated at $800 million in 2007...
was arrested in Cairo. The son of Egyptian tycoon Talaat Mostafa, Hisham Moustafa was charged with paying a hitman
Hitman
A hitman is a person hired to kill another person.- Hitmen in organized crime :Hitmen are largely linked to the world of organized crime. Hitmen are hired people who kill people for money. Notable examples include Murder, Inc., Mafia hitmen and Richard Kuklinski.- Other cases involving hitmen...
, Mohsen al-Sukkari
Mohsen al-Sukkari
Mohsen al-Sukkari, is an Egyptian former police officer who, on July 28, 2008 murdered the Lebanese well-known artist Suzanne Tamim in Dubai, UAE on orders of Egyptian business tycoon and member of the Egyptian Parliament Hisham Talaat Moustafa in return for $2 million paid by Moustafa, according...
, to have Tamim killed. On May 21, 2009, Moustafa and al-Sukkari were found guilty of Tamim's murder and capital punishment by hanging
Hanging
Hanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", though it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would remain...
in Cairo. An Egyptian court confirmed their sentences on June 25, 2009. However, on March 4, 2010, the Supreme Constitutional Court of Egypt
Supreme Constitutional Court of Egypt
The Supreme Constitutional Court is an independent judiciary body in the Arab Republic of Egypt, with its new seat in the Cairo suburb of Maadi....
threw out the convictions and sentences against the two convicts and ordered their retrial on a legal technicality. After the retrial, Moustafa was sentenced to 15 years. His co-defendant, al-Sukkari, had his sentence reduced to life in prison
Life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
. There were reports that Moustafa had escape
Escape
Escape may refer to:* Escapism, mental diversion by means of entertainment or recreation* Escapology, the study and practice of escaping from physical restraints* Prison escape, the act of breaking out of prison...
d from prison during the 2011 Egyptian protests.
Al-Sukkari, the alleged hitman, was a 39-year-old former policeman from Egypt. He was arrested as the alleged murderer in early August in Cairo. Al-Sukkari, whose name was being withheld, was said to have died in police custody soon after his arrest
Arrest
An arrest is the act of depriving a person of his or her liberty usually in relation to the purported investigation and prevention of crime and presenting into the criminal justice system or harm to oneself or others...
; however, the police subsequently produced him publicly. The alleged killer — who had apparently confessed to the murder - denied any connection to her death. Al-Sukkari was subsequently indicted, along with Moustafa, on charges of murder and for allegedly receiving $2 million from Moustafa for the killing.
Although Egyptian newspapers initially reported freely about the death, once the case was linked to the businessman the Attorney General forbade reporting about the case. An edition of a newspaper that defied the order was confiscated. Five Egyptian journalists were also charged with breaching the gag order
Gag order
A gag order is an order, sometimes a legal order by a court or government, other times a private order by an employer or other institution, restricting information or comment from being made public.Gag orders are often used against participants involved in a lawsuit or criminal trial...
during the trial.