MHD following his performance at the U Street Music Hall in Washington DC, September 15, 2017. LEO MOUREN / AFP
Sentenced at the end of September 2023 to twelve years in prison for murder, rapper MHD was released and placed under judicial supervision on Thursday February 1, pending his appeal trial, Agence France-Presse learned, Friday, at the Paris Court of Appeal.
“The investigating chamber notably justified its decision with regard to the fact that the person concerned, under judicial supervision prior to his trial at first instance, had respected it and had presented himself well at the hearing”, explained this same source. The 29-year-old artist, whose real name is Mohamed Sylla, was sentenced on September 24, 2023 by the Paris Assize Court to twelve years of criminal imprisonment for the murder of a young man aged 23.
On the night of July 5 to 6, 2018, Loïc K. was deliberately knocked down by a Mercedes in the 10th arrondissement of Paris, then beaten by around ten men and slashed with knives. He died of his wounds a few minutes following his attackers left. The car was found the next day, set on fire, in a parking lot.
Settling scores
MHD had been implicated by several witnesses who claimed that he was at the scene of the crime, which he disputes. At the heart of the case, a settling of scores between young people from the city of Chaufourniers, nicknamed the “red city”, where the accused come from, and the neighboring city of Grange-aux-Belles, located in the 10th and 19th arrondissements. districts.
Four of his five co-defendants, sentenced to sentences ranging from 10 to 18 years of criminal imprisonment, also appealed, the fifth being on the run and having been tried in absentia. Three other men, who were also tried with MHD, were acquitted by the court.
This affair clearly slowed down the career of MHD, pioneer of afro-trap, a mixture of hip-hop and African music, revealed in 2015 thanks to a video posted on YouTube that went viral, the starting point of a meteoric rise. Then a pizza delivery man, in a few months he became a recognized star not only in France, but also abroad, where he was noticed by artists like Madonna or Drake, before his career was stopped by this affair.