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.
