The Paris prosecution announced Friday to AFP that it had appealed a release order under judicial control of the musician MHD, taken Tuesday by a judge, the artist being likely to be released soon.
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The self-proclaimed inventor of the “afro-trap”, a mixture of rap and African music, known in particular for a hit to the glory of PSG, has been in pre-trial detention since January 17, 2019. Mohamed Sylla, 25, was indicted for "intentional homicide" in an alleged account settling case between rival groups in northeast Paris.
On Tuesday, a liberty and detention judge examined the extension of this pre-trial detention and issued an order for release under judicial supervision, going against the requisitions of the prosecution. The prosecution appealed the decision on Wednesday.
Read also: Deadly brawl in Paris: the rapper MHD kept in detention
The mandate of deposit of MHD must end soon, according to a source close to the file, and the artist could be released in two cases: if the hearing in the room of instruction of the court of appeal of Paris rejects the request of the prosecution for continued detention, or more simply if this hearing, the date of which was not yet known on Friday, intervened after the scheduled end of the artist's deposit warrant. In early April, the appeals court had detained MHD, who had tested positive for coronavirus, reversing an ex officio release decision taken by the investigating judge.
The settlement of accounts turns to drama
On the night of July 5 to 6, 2018, Loïc K., 23, had been hit by a car, beaten and stabbed in the 10th arrondissement of the capital, during a settling of scores between rival bands of the 10th and 19th arrondissements. A dozen people worked on him, a scene filmed from a window by a witness. The victim died very quickly from his injuries.
Read also: Accused of “intentional homicide”, rapper MHD kept in pre-trial detention
At least three witnesses say they have formally identified MHD, according to elements of the investigation of which AFP was aware. The interested party contested any participation in the facts. To date, a dozen men are under investigation, but two important people in the file are distinguished by their absence: a man whose DNA is present on a knife stained with blood recovered from the scene of the murder, and the main witness who recognized from the start MHD among the attackers, which is lacking in each of the confrontations requested by the rapper.