“I wasn’t there”: tried at the assizes in Paris, the rapper MHD denied this Wednesday at the bar having participated in the murder in Paris in 2018 of a young man, lynched as part of a settling of scores between gangs of rival cities, leaving however some gray areas.
The artist, now 29 years old, whose real name is Mohamed Sylla, is the last of the eight accused present at the hearing (a ninth man is on the run and therefore absent) to be questioned about this night of 5 to 6 July 2018, during which Loïc K. was hit by a Mercedes, beaten and slashed with knives by around ten people, before dying.
Recognized by witnesses
At the heart of the matter, a settling of scores between young people from the city of Chaufourniers, nicknamed the red city, and the neighboring city of Grange aux belles in the 10th and 19th arrondissements.
According to investigators, MHD, a resident of Chaufourniers, would have, during the beating, dragged the victim who was lying on the ground to keep him away from the car and would have violently kicked him in the head, before leaving the premises. places.
The reasons for these suspicions? The Mercedes that knocked down the victim, filmed in several videos and found on fire two days later in a parking lot, belonged to him. Furthermore, one of the videos of the scene taken by a witness from an apartment, shows an African man with dyed blond hair, wearing a Puma tracksuit.
However, at that time, MHD had peroxided hair and was an ambassador for the sportswear brand, and certain witnesses claimed to recognize him during the investigation.
“An ordinary evening”
“It was as ordinary an evening as could be,” recounts MHD, a slender figure and youthful features, interviewed for around six hours in front of a packed courtroom.
According to him, he spent the evening bowling, then returned to the Chaufourniers city in a Smart with a friend, while five others returned in his Mercedes, which he usually lent. Among the latter, three are now sitting in the dock, and two others, nicknamed Moha and Besbar, have to date been unable to be identified by investigators. MHD says he then talked a little in the city before going up to his house.
“At one point, (…) I noticed, through my little sister’s bedroom window, that there was a crowd around the dead end” where the car was parked, said the rapper. “When I put my head out the window, the Mercedes was gone.”
“My phones are in the vehicle,” he explains. After trying to call his sister’s phone on Snapchat to find out where the car was, without success, he said he got out and waited for the car to return. Finally, “one person” gives him back his phones. During this time, Loïc K. was fatally attacked a few streets from the city.
“I don’t want to put it into words right now.”
“Who is this person?” », asks the president. After a long silence, MHD finally replied: “I prefer not to answer for the moment”.
” For what ? », asks the magistrate. “Throughout the case, you know very well what people can incur…” he breathes, referring to the threats of reprisals mentioned during previous hearings by several of the accused so as not to name the guilty.
He will not say more about this man, just as he will refuse to dwell on Moha and Besbar when Me Juliette Chapelle, one of the lawyers for the civil parties, asks him if they really exist.
Returning to the charge, the president observes that her refusal to answer raises two questions. It’s “either because it involves you, or because it involves people who are close to you and who are in the room,” she says. “It’s just that I don’t want to put it into words at the moment,” MHD replies laconically.