Pop star's slaying turns into Mideast drama

The killing was an embarrassment to Dubai, a boomtown trying to shed its reputation as an anything-goes corner of the conservative Muslim Gulf. The emirate has recently cracked down on tourists going topless on beaches, and has launched a public anti-corruption effort.

El-Sukkary was arrested Aug. 6 in Egypt. Dubai police traveled to Cairo to present their evidence against him but then turned their attention to Moustafa.

Egypt's independent Al-Masri Al-Youm newspaper Thursday printed transcripts of alleged phone conversations kept by el-Sukkary and seized by police. In one, Moustafa says "the agreed amount is ready" and tells the security man, "Tomorrow, she is in London and you should act."

In a later tape, el-Sukkary explains he missed his chance in London and "will wait to move it to Dubai." Moustafa chides him then says, "OK, let's finish with this."

A senior Egyptian police official confirmed the transcript, speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because those investigation details had not been released.

Mubarak and his government have not commented publicly on the case.

But some government critics believe the arrest came only under Dubai pressure. "There was serious pressure from the Gulf," said Abdel-Halim Qandil, editor-in-chief of the independent Sout Al-Umma newspaper and a frequent Mubarak critic.

Growing discontent
There also has been growing discontent at home over the clout of businessmen who dominate the government, overshadowing even the military figures who long held the reins of power. Earlier this year, the millionaire owner of a ferry company was acquitted of negligence in the 2005 sinking of a Red Sea ferry that killed 1,000 people, angering many.

Several top businessmen hold Cabinet posts or are on the ruling party's policy committee, headed by Gamal Mubarak, a former investment banker considered the likely successor to his 80-year-old father. Moustafa is a top committee member and also in parliament's upper house.

Beyond the corruption worries, the singer's murder highlighted the gap between Egypt's rich and the largely poor, conservative bulk of its nearly 80 million population.

Rumors abound of businessmen and politicians peddling out actresses and singers in prostitution rings. The frequent marriages and divorces of celebrities and businessmen make big news.

"The mix of sex, money, business and power is the mix that defines the ruling elite now," said Qandil.

He said Moustafa's arrest may signal divisions within the regime between the politician-businessmen and an old guard, including the military, worried over the tycoons' excesses.

The government may tout Moustafa's arrest as a sign businessmen aren't untouchable, he said, but "people ask if Hisham Talaat Moustafa did this, what else is going on?"

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