Lebanese singer Fadel Shaker released on bail in armed group case
Judicial officials told AP the singer paid bail while facing retrial over alleged links to a militant group and the 2013 Sidon clashes.
By Sofia Marchetti · World Affairs Correspondent
3 min read
Lebanese singer Fadel Shaker has been released on bail while he is retried on charges tied to an armed group, according to judicial officials cited by The Associated Press. The case matters in Lebanon because it reaches back to deadly 2013 fighting in Sidon and the singer’s turn from Arab pop star to supporter of hardline Sunni cleric Ahmed al-Assir.
The officials, who spoke to AP on condition of anonymity, said Shaker paid 500 million Lebanese pounds, about $5,500, and left custody on Wednesday after questioning. They said the allegations under review include membership in an armed group, financing armed groups, money laundering and involvement in the Sidon clashes between Lebanese troops and followers of al-Assir.
According to the officials cited by AP, Shaker left a military facility near Beirut and moved to a rented apartment. Four cases against him remain active, including allegations linked to forming an armed group, funding armed groups and money laundering, the officials said.
From pop career to political rallies
Shaker, 57, grew up near the Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon, according to media reports. He released his first album, “Wallah Zaman,” in 1998, and built a large following across the Arab world over the next decade.
His romantic songs, including “Ya Ghayeb,” helped make him a regular draw at music festivals, according to Al Jazeera. In 2012, he stepped away from commercial singing on religious grounds, saying the work was sinful, and later became associated with al-Assir’s movement.
Al Jazeera reported that Shaker began performing religious hymns at rallies backing al-Assir. Al-Assir was known for fierce criticism of Syria’s government during the Syrian civil war and of Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shia movement allied with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
The Sidon clashes
In 2013, fighting broke out in the Abra district of Sidon after al-Assir supporters opened fire on a military checkpoint, according to Al Jazeera. The clashes killed 18 Lebanese soldiers and between 25 and 40 of al-Assir’s fighters.
Shaker was accused of being among the Sunni fighters. At the time, a video circulated showing him saying, “We sent home two corpses for you yesterday,” in reference to two pro-Hezbollah fighters who had been killed, according to Al Jazeera.
Shaker has acknowledged supporting al-Assir but denies taking part in the Sidon fighting, according to Al Jazeera. Al-Assir was arrested in 2015 while trying to leave Lebanon, was sentenced to death in 2017, and received a separate 20-year hard-labour sentence in 2021, according to Al Jazeera.
Earlier conviction set aside after surrender
Lebanon’s military tribunal tried Shaker in absentia in 2020 and sentenced him to 22 years in prison, according to Al Jazeera. The state-run National News Agency reported at the time that the sentence included 15 years of hard labour over alleged involvement in terrorist acts through logistical support, plus seven years for financing al-Assir’s group.
Shaker surrendered to police last October, according to Al Jazeera. Authorities then dropped the earlier in-absentia sentences, and he went on trial in January; the proceedings are still continuing, according to the judicial officials cited by AP.
Before surrendering, Shaker released several new songs that performed strongly on music charts, Al Jazeera reported. The songs were recorded in Ain al-Hilweh, where he was believed to have been hiding for about 12 years and where Lebanese security forces usually did not enter, according to Al Jazeera.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.