Egyptian tycoon wins bid to throw out UK lawsuit over singer's murder

Egyptian real estate tycoon Hisham Talaat Moustafa on Friday won his bid to throw out a London lawsuit brought against him by a former kickboxing world champion for ordering the murder of a Lebanese pop star in 2008.

Talaat Moustafa, CEO of Talaat Moustafa Group, was convicted in Egypt of paying a former police officer to stab Suzanne Tamim, 30, to death at her luxury apartment in Dubai.

He was initially sentenced to death in 2009, before his conviction was overturned on appeal. Following two retrials, Talaat Moustafa was convicted again and jailed for 15 years. He was pardoned by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in 2017.

Tamim, who rose to fame after winning a television talent show in the 1990s, had been in a relationship with Iraqi-British kickboxer Riyadh Al-Azzawi before she was killed.

Al-Azzawi sued Talaat Moustafa at London's High Court in 2022, seeking damages for the psychological and emotional damage he said he suffered as a result of Tamim's murder.

Talaat Moustafa sought to have the case thrown out, arguing Al-Azzawi's lawyers did not provide all relevant evidence when they were given permission to bring the case and that it should be heard in Dubai, rather than London.

In a ruling dismissing the case on Friday, Judge Christopher Butcher said Al-Azzawi did not disclose relevant information about whether the lawsuit was brought too late when he sought permission to serve the case on Talaat Moustafa in Egypt.

The judge also said that "the courts of Dubai are clearly and distinctly more appropriate" if the case were to proceed.

Talaat Moustafa's English lawyers did not immediately comment. Al-Azzawi's lawyers could not be contacted for comment.