Why has MHD been released?

Mohammed Sallah better known as MHD is a French rapper from Paris who is known for blending trap music with music of West Africa: a genre he termed as ‘Afro Tap’. In January 2019, his name was cited in an investigation into a murder case, dating back to July 2018, when a 23-year -old man was beaten to death in the streets of Paris during what was reported as a fight between rival streets. Through images of surveillance cameras, French police found that assailants came to the scene using a car whose owner was identified as MHD. Speaking through his lawyer, MHD denied any involvement in the crime.

In March 2020, while MHD was remanded in custody in la Santé, his lawyer stated that he had tested positive for Covid -19 and subsequently requested for MHD to be released under supervision. The request was rejected. On Thursday 16th July 2020, after being detained on remand for 18 months, MHD was released under judicial supervision. This is a measure that may not be only provisional pending a decision by the court of appeal.  He has since awaited trial. Sources say the musicians warrant, a cantor worshiped in France and abroad by the ‘afro-pop’, expired on Thursday 16th July, 2020 and his lawyer Me Elise Arfi confirmed that he had been released in the middle of the day. The release from prison could however be only short-lived; the Paris court of Appeal must examine, on July 23rd, according to a judicial source, the appeal brought by the Paris public prosecutor’s office against the July 7th order on his release and the placing under judicial supervision of MHD.