Retrial cuts sentence for man convicted of arranging lover's murder

AN EGYPTIAN real estate tycoon accused of hiring a hitman to kill his pop star lover was spared the death penalty yesterday after a retrial changed his 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 the 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.

The judge convicted Moustafa for conspiracy to murder Suzanne Tamim, 30, and gave him 15 years in prison. The tycoon was previously sentenced to death in May 2009 after being convicted of paying a retired Egyptian police officer $2 million (about 1.2m) to kill Tamim in Dubai in July 2008. But a court this March overturned the conviction and ordered a retrial.

Moustafa could be released in just a few years, counting time served and good behaviour.