Rapper MHD Slapped With 12-Year Sentence for Murder

French rapper MHD has been sentenced to 12 years in prison. The 29-year-old musician, whose real name is Mohamed Sylla, was found guilty for his involvement in the gang-related murder of 23-year-old Loic K in Paris in 2018, according to the BBC. He had previously pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The charges stemmed from an incident on the night of July 5, 2018. Loic K was rammed by a black Mercedes and then beaten and stabbed to death by a crowd of about 12 people in the French capital’s 10th arrondissement. Although MHD denied any involvement in the crime and said he was not at the scene, a local resident filmed the incident from his window. The Mercedes used in the crime, which was later found abandoned and burned in a car park, was identified as belonging to the rapper, and other witnesses identified MHD by his haircut and sweatshirt, according to investigative reports seen by Agence France-Presse.

In 2019, MHD was charged with voluntary manslaughter. He was tried alongside eight co-defendants, including three who were acquitted. The other five were found guilty and received sentences ranging from 10 to 18 years. All of those convicted, including MHD, pleaded not guilty, with the rapper saying in a final statement to the jury, “from the beginning, I have maintained my innocence in this case and I will continue to maintain my innocence.” Those convicted have 10 days to appeal, per The Guardian. Juliette Chapelle, a lawyer for the victim’s family who had asked for an 18-year prison sentence for the rapper, said, “a judicial truth emerged despite the law of silence.”

MHD originally found fame and garnered a huge following on social media after he began posting music on YouTube. He released his debut album, MHD, in 2016, the album going on to sell more than 200,000 copies in six months, per Entertainment Weekly. He released his second album, 19, in 2018, with his third album, Mansa, being recorded after he was released under judicial supervision in July 2020. The musician is known for blending trap and West African music to get “Afro trap.” He was previously a part of the rap collective 1.9 Reseaux and also starred in the 2019 French drama Mon frère. Deadline reports that he has been on remand since his arrest in 2019.