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Husband of Lebanese pop star charged with murder after shooting intruder 16 times

Nancy Ajram hosts the Lebanese version of Pop Idol
Nancy Ajram hosts the Lebanese version of Pop Idol

The husband of a superstar of the Arab pop world will appear in a Lebanese court this week charged with murder after he allegedly shot dead an intruder into the glamourous couple’s home.

Fadi Al-Hashem, a celebrity dentist and husband of Lebanese singer and television talent judge Nancy Ajram, claims that he killed in self-defence after a man broke into the house just after dawn and started threatening his wife and family with a pistol.  

But having initially been released by Lebanese judges, Dr Hashem last week was re-arrested and charged with “intentional murder” after it emerged that the victim had sustained no less than 16 gunshot wounds and may have been known to the couple.

Local media channels have broadcast security camera footage from the night of the incident that showed a masked man carrying what appeared to be a gun and appearing to confront Dr Hashem, before being chased and shot at by him.

The dead man has been named as Mohamed Hassan Moussa, a 30-year-old Syrian immigrant whose family claim had been working for Mr Hashem and Ms Ajram as a gardener and who they say was owed money by them.

Ms Ajram, 36, is one of Lebanon’s most successful singers, who has sold more than 30 million records worldwide since starting her career as a teenager and latterly becoming a judge on the “Arab Idol” television series.

She has insisted that she and her husband, who will appear in court on Thursday, did not know Moussa and was right to defend his family.

“Of course, we wish this did not happen to us, but this is due to circumstances, any father would respond if his family is touched by a mere speck of dust.”

Before his arrest last week Dr Hashem told Lebanese broadcaster MTV that the burglar was carrying one of his wife’s handbags and asking for money.

He said he “lost his mind” and shot Mr Moussa after he approached the bedroom where his two daughters were sleeping.

“I ran to him like a kamikaze. I wanted to cut him into pieces. Even if he shot me,” he said.

But speaking to a Saudi TV station from Syria two days after the incident on January 5, Mr Moussa’s mother said that her son, a father of two who moved to Lebanon 13 years ago, was owed an unspecified amount of money by the couple and had no reason to stage a robbery.

“[Dr Hashem] could have shot him twice in his leg but why would he shoot him 16 times?” she added. “Why would they do this to my son?”

A lawyer for Dr Hashem could not be reached for comment.