An Egyptian court on Thursday postponed till March 4 ruling on an appeal request by property magnate and politician Hisham Talaat Moustafa, who was sentenced to death last year for ordering the murder of a Lebanese singer.
Moustafa, 50, who was a member of parliament for the ruling National Democratic Party and formerly chaired a top property firm, was convicted of paying a hitman $2 million to kill singer Suzanne Tamim, 30, in Dubai.
Media reports labeled the attack an act of revenge after she ended a relationship with Moustafa.
Judge Adel Abdel-Hamid announced the postponement after a more than six-hour session that had been expected to lead to a decision on whether to accept or reject the appeal request.
The first verdict, sentencing Moustafa to death in May, was greeted with shock in Egypt where members of the elite are generally regarded as being above the law and where reporting of the court sessions was banned.
Moustafa handed over the chairmanship of Talaat Moustafa Group to his brother Tarek after he was charged, but twists and turns in the case still impact the share price.
The stock rose more than 4 percent during trading on Thursday, against a broadly negative market, on speculation that the court would accept his appeal. It finished the session before the postponement was announced up 1.7 percent.
Legal experts had said a ruling that rejected Moustafa's appeal request would have cleared the way for his execution, although the constitution allows the president to issue a pardon or reduction in any sentence.
A retrial is expected if the appeal request is accepted.
Security man Mohsen al-Sukkari, accused of carrying out the crime at Moustafa's behest, was also condemned to death. The ruling on his appeal request was also postponed to March 4.
Sukkari was reported to have tricked the singer into opening her door in her Dubai apartment by posing as a representative of the building's owners. He then stabbed her with a knife, the indictment said.
Sukkari later dumped bloody clothes near the crime scene, leaving DNA, prosecutors said. Evidence also included phone calls between Sukkari and Moustafa, who was married.
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