MHD, from the rap scene to the assizes | EUROtoday
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The trial of rapper MHD, adored in France and overseas, opened on Monday earlier than the Assize Court. He faces 30 years in jail.
By Valentine Arama
© ALAIN JOCARD / AFP
Published on
Ihe arrived with a closed face, hidden beneath a light-colored bob, with out saying a phrase. In the courtroom with wooded partitions of the courthouse on the Ile de la Cité, the place he’ll seem for 3 weeks for “intentional homicide”, he’s not “MHD”, rapper with 1000’s of albums offered , however “Mohamed Sylla”, and presents himself soberly as “artist author performer”. Dressed all in black, his hair cropped and goatee on his chin, the pioneer of “Afro-trap”, adored in France and overseas, is accused, together with seven different males – a ninth is absent and can subsequently be tried by default –, of getting crushed Loïc Ok., 23, to demise in July 2018, in opposition to the backdrop of a battle between rival gangs.
This Monday, the eight defendants aged 25 to 34 subsequently took their locations in silence in the crowded room, nearly all dressed fully in black, as if a solemn uniform had been wanted for the event. Five of them, together with Mohamed Sylla, seem free. The native of La Roche-sur-Yon (Vendée), of Guinean origin and who will have a good time his twenty ninth birthday in every week, was launched in the summer season of 2020 beneath judicial supervision. Forbidden to go to Paris, the rapper with a youthful face now resides in Montpellier (Hérault) and should report to a police station each week.
peroxide blonde hair
This Monday, on the first day of the trial, the president of the court docket started by recalling the info: the physique of Loïc Ok., discovered lacerated with 22 stab wounds on the evening of July 6 to 7, 2018, the investigations which from the subsequent day made it potential to perceive that it was a lynching linked to a battle between the cities of the Chaufourniers, in the 19e arrondissement of the capital, and that of Grange-aux-Belles, situated just a few hundred meters from the first, in the 10e district, then these witnesses who, in a short time, mentioned that they had acknowledged MHD amongst the ten attackers.
READ ALSOMHD, a rap star tried for homicide, in opposition to the backdrop of gang wars
On the CCTV photographs captured on the night of the occasions by the metropolis of Paris, it’s potential to see a person hanging the sufferer a number of instances, wearing a Puma tracksuit, a model of which Mohamed Sylla was then the ambassador, and with hair peroxide blonde, the coloration he wore at the time. Since then, her hair has returned to its pure black coloration. It was additionally found that the Mercedes that hit the sufferer that fateful evening in July 2018 belonged to MHD. From all this, the rapper defended himself, arguing that not less than twenty individuals had their hair dyed in the metropolis at the time of the info, that the tracksuit in query had been accessible for buy since 2017 and that he lent very repeatedly his automobile to his neighborhood associates and acquaintances.
“Incredible violence”
Indeed, the rapper, whose rise was as meteoric as the brutal fall, has at all times vigorously denied any involvement on this beating “of incredible violence”, in the phrases of Mr.e Chapelle, the sufferer’s household lawyer. If the investigations didn’t make it potential to isolate irrefutable materials proof regarding the presence of the rapper at the crime scene, the investigating decide thought of that the fees have been nevertheless adequate to refer him to the Assize Court.
In this case, greater than sixty witnesses have been heard. Among them, a member of the “enemy” metropolis who constantly repeated having “formally” recognized MHD amongst the attackers. Summoned to testify at the trial, his presence continues to be pending. During the investigation, the latter didn’t present up for any of the confrontations organized with the rapper. His protection sees this as an indication that he can’t be thought of credible. With regard to his co-defendants, all additionally deny having participated in the info. During the investigation, in the workplace of the analyzing Justice of the Peace, nobody allowed himself to converse. Law of the metropolis: swinging is forbidden. It is troublesome to think about that will probably be in any other case throughout this trial, which may even be the gloomy image of trivialized violence that may be unleashed for nothing. And the demise of Loïc Ok. is the horrible consequence.
https://www.lepoint.fr/societe/guerre-des-cites-mhd-de-la-scene-du-rap-aux-assises-04-09-2023-2534061_23.php#xtor=RSS-221