An Egyptian tycoon and an associate pleaded innocent Saturday to charges they orchestrated the gruesome murder of a Lebanese pop star in a case that has transfixed the Middle East. Lebanese singer Suzanne Tamim was stabbed to death in her apartment in Dubai in July. A month later, powerful Egyptian real estate mogul and lawmaker Hisham Talaat Moustafa was stripped of his parliamentary immunity and arrested for ordering the murder. Moustafa, together with Mohsen El-Sukkary who is charged with actually carrying out the murder, appeared together dressed in white track suits in the packed courtroom's defendants' cage. The charges of murder were read out in court and both men affirmed their innocence “I didn't kill Suzanne. I didn't do it,” El-Sukkary said from behind the bars. Moustafa, surrounded with police in plainclothes inside and outside the cage, responded to the judge by saying, “It didn't happen. I presented all evidence to prove that it didn't. I ask for God's protection for he is my best advocate.” The two men were separated from each other by a partition inside the cage to prevent any possible scuffles as each is expected to blame the other for the murder. The prosecution then admitted into evidence Tamim's white trousers, a Swiss army knife, fingerprint report, DNA tests, security camera tapes and transcripts of phone conversations between the two men allegedly about the murder. Lawyers for Moustafa moved that he should be released on bail, which the judge refused. “This is very dangerous not only on the defendant but on his 11 companies ... and the 60,000 employees who work for him,” Hafiz Farhoud, Moustafa lawyer said.
