The Paris Court of Appeal validated the request for release of Parisian rapper MHD, his real name Mohamed Sylla, sentenced in September 2023 to twelve years in prison for murder.
Sentenced in September 2023 to twelve years in prison for a murder committed in 2018 in a case of settling scores between gangs from the 10th and 19th arrondissements of Paris where the rapper grew up, MHD, whose real name is Mohammed Sylla , was released and placed under judicial supervision on Thursday February 1, before his appeal trial. The 29-year-old Parisian artist appealed his conviction for murder in October 2023, recalls 20 minutes. “The investigating chamber notably justified its decision with regard to the fact that the person concerned, under judicial supervision prior to his trial at first instance, had respected it and had presented himself well at the hearing”, indicated the Paris Court of Appeal.
During the trial, Mohammed Sylla appeared alongside eight other people, five of whom were also sentenced to 10 to 18 years of criminal imprisonment. At the height of his musical career, the author of afro trap hits has always proclaimed his innocence. A week after the verdict, the young man, who had already spent his first stay in prison, appealed.
The summary of the MHD case
On the night of July 5 to 6, 2018, a 23-year-old young man, Loïc K., was hit by a car, beaten and stabbed by a gang of around ten individuals, in the 10th arrondissement of Paris. The scene, filmed by a witness from a window, looks like a settling of scores between two rival gangs in the capital. MHD, who belonged to the gang from the 19th arrondissement which attacked the young man, was identified by at least three witnesses, according to the first elements of the investigation revealed at the time by Le Parisien.
The victim, Loïc K., suffered around thirty wounds or scratches, according to franceinfo; the fatal wound being located along his left thigh. Nicknamed “Pépé” by those around him, reports Releasethe 23-year-old Franco-Cameroonian was represented by his parents during the trial.
Who is the rapper MDH?
MHD, whose real name is Mohamed Sylla, was born on September 10, 1994 in La Roche-sur-Yon, in Vendée. In France, he became known in the early 2010s and quickly became one of the faces of afro trap, a mix of African music and trap. In 2012, he started a group with friends from his neighborhood in the 19th arrondissement of Paris, before getting noticed with a rap freestyle in 2015. His first album, MHD, released in 2016, his career was launched. The disc was a success and was certified double platinum. The public and the media are unanimous.
In 2018, MHD released its second album, 19, which is also successful. On YouTube and on streaming platforms, views and plays are counted in the hundreds of millions. But his career, which he also wanted to put on hold, came to an abrupt end when he was incarcerated. MHD made his return to music in May 2021, ten months after his release from prison, with a single called AFRO TRAP Part.11 (King Kong).