Arafat Abou-Chaker
Fine for Bushido’s ex-manager – public prosecutor’s office appeals
The main defendant Arafat Abou-Chaker (M) after the verdict was announced
© Sebastian Christoph Gollnow / DPA
The court examined allegations against Bushido’s ex-business partner for around three and a half years. In the end there was only a fine. The public prosecutor initially does not accept this.
The Berlin public prosecutor’s office accepts the verdict against the rapper’s ex-manager Not Bushido at first. The authority has filed an appeal “for the purpose of review,” said an authority spokesman on Monday in response to a request from the German Press Agency. Whether this is actually carried out depends on the written reasons for the judgment. It will probably be a few months before this is available. However, appeals must be filed within one week of the verdict.
The Berlin regional court acquitted Arafat Abou-Chaker, who is considered the Berlin clan boss, on the key points last Monday after a trial lasting around three and a half years. It only sentenced the 47-year-old to a fine of 81,000 euros (90 daily rates of 900 euros each) for violating the confidentiality of the word because he secretly recorded conversations.
Three co-accused brothers, aged 42, 46 and 53, were also acquitted in the cases involving Bushido. One brother was not penalized in the case of a false affidavit. According to the authority spokesman, the public prosecutor’s office refrained from appealing his case.
Imprisonment compensation for two defendants
According to the verdict, Arafat Abou-Chaker will receive compensation of 75 euros per day for a good two weeks of pre-trial detention, and his 42-year-old brother will receive compensation for around eight months. In view of the acquittals, everyone only has to pay a fraction of the immense legal costs. The rest falls to the state treasury.
Rapper Bushido was a witness and co-plaintiff in the criminal proceedings – and a large part of the allegations were based on his statements. After that, after the former business partners separated in 2017, violence was said to have occurred in order to get a million-dollar payment from the musician. The prosecution had accused Abou-Chaker of, among other things, attempted aggravated extortion, deprivation of liberty, coercion, grievous bodily harm and serious breach of trust.
Court: Contradictions in Bushido’s statements
In its ruling, however, the regional court made it clear: It is not convinced by the testimony of Bushido, whose real name is Anis Mohamed Ferchichi. There are contradictions. The verdict stated, among other things, that attempted predatory blackmail was ruled out for legal reasons. Abou-Chaker could have assumed claims. Negotiations for the separation had been going on for months. The ex-manager cannot be assumed to have had no claims for payment. According to the court, the deprivation of liberty could not be proven. It was said that the chamber was also unable to form the conviction necessary for a conviction for dangerous bodily harm.