BEIRUT — Lebanese authorities released former pop singer Fadel Shaker on bail Wednesday after months of detention pending a retrial on charges including membership in an armed group and money laundering, according to judicial officials.
Shaker surrendered to military intelligence in October after 12 years as a fugitive, having hidden in the Ein el-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp near Sidon. He had been convicted in absentia in 2020 and sentenced to 22 years for supporting a “terrorist group” linked to deadly 2013 clashes between Sunni militants and Lebanese army soldiers in the Sidon area.
Four judicial officials told The Associated Press that Shaker posted bail of 500 million Lebanese pounds (approximately $5,500) and was released Wednesday following questioning on allegations ranging from armed group participation and terror financing to money laundering — most critically, his alleged role in the Sidon confrontations. The investigation remains open, and the officials spoke on condition of anonymity per regulations.
Following his release from a military facility in a Beirut suburb, Shaker moved to a rented apartment, the officials said. Neither Shaker nor his attorney responded to requests for comment.
Under Lebanese law, Shaker’s original sentence was vacated upon his surrender, and a retrial commenced in January. During proceedings, he acknowledged ties to Sunni cleric Ahmed al-Assir but claimed he had received threats from Hezbollah and supporters of ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Al-Assir was sentenced to death in 2017 for his role in the 2013 violence that killed 18 soldiers; he remains on death row. Shaker testified that he had grown estranged from al-Assir before the clashes and repeatedly denied participating in the fighting.
A 2013 YouTube video, however, shows a bearded Shaker insulting his enemies and taunting the military, referencing “two rotting corpses” seized from pro-Hezbollah fighters killed in the clashes.
The fighting intensified sectarian tensions between Sunni and Shiite communities in Lebanon, exacerbated by the Syrian civil war next door, where Hezbollah backed Assad’s forces against predominantly Sunni opposition groups.
Once a chart-topping star across the Arab world following his 2002 breakout hit, Shaker stunned fans by appearing at rallies alongside al-Assir and declaring he had abandoned music to draw closer to God. Despite his fugitive status, he continued releasing songs, including a viral duet with his son Mohammed last July.
