Lebanese authorities have granted bail to Fadel Shaker, the pop star accused of joining a rebel group, who spent months in jail while being retried on charges of belonging to an armed group and money laundering.

Judicial officials said he made a 500 million Lebanese pounds ($5,500) bail payment and was released on Wednesday after being questioned about an array of allegations, including being part of an armed group, funding armed groups, money laundering, and taking part in the 2013 Sidon clashes between government troops and followers of a Sunni Muslim sheikh.

Shaker, 57, rose to fame in the Arab world as a "prince of romance" with hits like 'Ya Ghayeb'. In 2012, he shocked fans by retiring from singing on religious grounds, calling it "sinful," and was later accused of joining an armed group led by hardline Sunni leader Ahmed al-Assir.

The 2013 Sidon clashes left 18 Lebanese soldiers and between 25 and 40 of al-Assir's fighters dead. A viral video showed Shaker saying, "We sent home two corpses for you yesterday," referring to pro-Hezbollah fighters. Shaker admits supporting al-Assir but denies involvement in the clashes.

In 2020, Shaker was sentenced in absentia to 22 years in prison, but after surrendering in October 2023, those sentences were dropped. He now faces four ongoing cases, including allegations of forming an armed group and money laundering.

Source: www.aljazeera.com