Lebanese pop star turned militant Fadel Shaker tells court he is innocent

BEIRUT (AP) — A Lebanese pop star turned Islamic militant told a military court Thursday that he is innocent and did not take part in battles against the Lebanese army or fund a radical cleric, judicial officials said.

Fadel Shaker handed himself over to the country’s military intelligence service in early October, 12 years after going on the run and hiding in the Palestinian refugee camp of Ein el-Hilweh near the port city of Sidon.

Shaker made his first appearance at Beirut’s Military Tribunal Thursday and was questioned over cases including funding armed groups, statements critical of the army that he allegedly made to an Arabic-language newspaper, and whether he played a role in 2013 clashes in south Lebanon that killed 18 soldiers, five judicial officials said.

Shaker said during his trial that he only got close to radical Sunni Muslim cleric Ahmed al-Assir after receiving threats from the militant Hezbollah group and supporters of ousted Syrian President Bashar Assad. Shaker added that his house was set on fire and his money stolen, forcing him to flee to Ein el-Hilweh for safety, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about the ongoing trial to the media.

Shaker also said that there were disagreements between him and al-Assir before the 2013 clashes broke out in Sidon.

Shaker had been on the run since the bloody street clashes between Sunni Muslim militants loyal to al-Assir and the Lebanese army in June 2013. He was tried in absentia and sentenced to 22 years in prison in 2020 for providing support to a “terrorist group.”

He is on trial again because authorities dropped the sentences he received previously after his surrender.

Shaker had repeatedly denied playing any role in the clashes in Sidon and said he never advocated bloodshed.

The 2013 shootout deepened sectarian tensions in Lebanon between Sunni and Shiite Muslims.

In a video uploaded to YouTube during those clashes, a bearded Shaker called his enemies pigs and dogs and taunted the military, saying “we have two rotting corpses that we snatched from you yesterday.” Shaker was referring to two pro-Hezbollah fighters who were killed in the clashes.

Shaker became a pop star throughout the Arab world in 2002 with a smash hit. Almost 10 years later, he fell under the influence of al-Assir and shocked fans by turning up next to the hard-line cleric at rallies. He later said that he was giving up singing to become closer to God.

In July, Shaker, along with his son Mohammed, released a new song that went viral throughout the Arab world and got over 166 million views of YouTube.