Mystery surrounds the whereabouts of the men behind the brutal Dubai murder of Lebanese singer Suzanne Tamim after reports said they had escaped their maximum security prison.
Egyptian authorities have not confirmed if Hisham Talaat Moustafa, a real estate tycoon and former senator, is on the run along with hitman Mohsen El Sukkari.
But senior sources said the two men were among thousands of inmates who broke out of prisons across Egypt in the chaos sparked by nationwide riots demanding the removal of President Hosni Mubarak.
Armed men attacked at least four jails on Sunday. Syria News quoted a high-ranking official as saying Talaat bribed wardens to let him escape during the chaos.
Al Arabiya television also quoted sources as saying the pair are on the run, although Talaat's wife claimed she had not heard from her husband.
The men were both serving 15-year prison sentences for Tamim's murder.
JEALOUS LOVER ORDERED MURDER
The pair were originally sentenced to death for plotting and carrying out the crime. But that conviction was quashed on appeal, and an Egyptian court issued a new verdict after a retrial.
Talaat, a prominent member of Egypt's ruling party, was convicted of inciting the murder of the 30-year-old star, his former lover, after paying retired Egyptian policeman Sukkari Dhs7 million to kill her in July 2008.
Sukkari followed Tamim to her apartment in Jumeirah Beach Residence, entered using an ID of the management company and then stabbed her to death.
Talaat wanted to marry Tamim, pictured, and ordered her death out of jealousy when she refused and started seeing other men.
© 7Days 2011
