RABAT: A Moroccan court has sentenced French rapper Maes to seven years in prison on charges including the forming of a criminal gang and attempted kidnapping, local reports said Wednesday.
Maes, who has roots in Morocco and whose real name is Walid Georgey, was arrested upon landing in Morocco in January after fleeing the United Arab Emirates where he feared he could be extradited to France, the reports said.
French authorities had issued an international arrest warrant for him over a separate criminal case.
He appeared in court late Tuesday and was found guilty of “forming a criminal organization, attempted abduction and unlawful confinement” of a rival in Morocco, news website TelQuel reported.
The rapper with over a billion views on his YouTube channel was accused of tasking a gang and hitmen with killing the rival, but the plot was foiled, TelQuel added.
Maes has denied all charges, with his lawyers calling the case “empty” and “arguing that no evidence linked him to the other defendants,” TelQuel added.
Ten other people were sentenced as part of the case, with terms ranging from one to 10 years, according to news website Media24.
AFP was unable to independently verify the reports as prosecutors were not immediately reachable for comment.
In 2020, when Maes was one of France’s most-streamed rappers, he fell victim to extortion attempts in his native Sevran, a suburb north of Paris, according to reports.
He retaliated by opening fire with weapons he had at home, leading to a shootout. He then fled to Dubai with his family, according to an interview with French YouTube channel LEGEND.
Following the killing of his manager in 2022, he was suspected of ordering reprisals against those he believed were behind the murder, according to reports.