Rabat – Fadl Shaker, one of the Arab world’s most celebrated pop stars, is set to be released from prison after surrendering to Lebanese authorities following 12 years in hiding.
The singer had been living in the Ain al-Hilweh Refugee Camp, a Palestinian refugee camp near the southern Lebanese city of Sidon, where he remained a fugitive since 2013.
Shaker faces four cases related to his alleged involvement in deadly clashes in Sidon in 2013 alongside radical cleric Ahmad al-Assir.
The fighting between Assir’s supporters and the Lebanese Armed Forces left 18 soldiers dead.
According to a judicial source, Shaker will be released after posting two bail payments totaling nearly $3,500.
The bail has already been paid, and he is expected to leave prison on Wednesday.
During his years in hiding, Lebanese courts convicted Shaker in absentia in the four cases, handing down prison sentences ranging from five to 15 years with hard labor.
Despite his fugitive status, the singer maintained an active music career. In the months before surrendering, he released several songs that topped music charts across the Arab world.
His music videos, filmed inside Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp, attracted hundreds of millions of views on YouTube, underscoring his enduring popularity despite his legal troubles.
Once regarded as one of the biggest names in Arabic pop music, Shaker’s career took a dramatic turn after he publicly aligned himself with Ahmad al-Assir during the 2013 conflict, a move that sparked widespread controversy and led to years of legal proceedings.
