Photo via publicist
French rapper MHD has been found guilty of a 2018 gang-related murder and sentenced to 12 years in prison, BBC News and The Guardian report.
The rapper, real name Mohamed Sylla, was one of nine men charged in the 2018 killing of a man named Loic K. The court heard how a black Mercedes rammed the man who was then stabbed by around a dozen men in the French capital’s 10th arrondissement.
Sylla was arrested and charged with second-degree murder in January 2019. He pleaded not guilty in court and denied he was at the scene of the crime. However, surveillance camera footage plus an eye-witness report confirmed him as the owner of the Mercedes. The car was found abandoned and burned out in a car park a day after the killing.
Five of Sylla's co-defendants were given prison terms ranging between 10 and 18 years. Three others were acquitted.
“From the beginning, I have maintained my innocence in this case and I will continue to maintain my innocence,” Sylla told the court prior to sentencing.
MHD was one of the first artists to describe his music using the Afro Trap genre name. He released his most recent album, Mansa, in July 2021 while he was under judicial supervision.
