Lebanon court sentences Palestinian singer-turned-radical Fadl Shaker to 22 years in prison

A military court in Lebanon has sentenced a prominent Palestinian singer to 22 years in prison in absentia.

Singer Fadel Shamandar, known as Fadl Shaker, was issued with two judgements, Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported. The first ruling sentenced Fadl to 15 years in prison for "interfering in terrorist acts committed by terrorists with his knowledge of the matter by providing logistical services to them". 

The second ruling sentenced him to seven years imprisonment and fined him five million Lebanese pounds ($3,293) for "the offence of financing the Ahmed Al-Assir armed group, spending on it and securing the price of weapons and ammunition for it".

The court also ordered the 51-year-old singer to be stripped of his civil rights.

This isn’t the first sentence faced by the singer-turned-radical.

Read more: Hariri's comeback met with scorn and apathy in Lebanon

In September 2017, Fadl was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment with hard labour in absentia during the trial of radical cleric Ahmad al-Assir, who had been found guilty of terrorism charges for his involvement in deadly clashes with the Lebanese army in 2013 in the southern city of Sidon.

He, along with the 33 other men were slapped with terrorism charges over the Abra clashes, which left 18 Lebanese soldiers dead.

Shaker was in hiding in the Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp at the time, however in 2018 he returned to singing in the Gulf and Egyptian dialects.

He released a new track called “Let’s Meet” earlier this week.