French Court Jails Rapper for Abusing Ex-Partners

 A French court on Friday awarded a year jail sentence to a former rap star after finding him guilty of abusing and sometimes forcibly confining six former partners.

Moha La Squale, 29, has already served 17 months in jail.

Fashion brand Lacoste dropped the hip hop artist, born Mohamed Bellahmed in a Parisian suburb, in 2020 after a police inquiry was opened after accusations on social media.

The Paris court barred him from contacting the six women and sentenced him to pay each between $2,700 and $10,800 in damages.

During the trial, the French rapper of Algerian origin refused to accept charges against him saying his accusers were lying. He claimed that he was the victim of a plot.

His lawyer Elise Arfi said her client probably would not file an appeal against the verdict which she called a balanced one, adding that he had changed a lot.

She had previously argued he was completely overwhelmed by suddenly becoming famous in his early 20s. The lawyers added that the consumption of cannabis by the young rapper could have explained his mood swings.

Moha La Squale rose to fame in the French charts in 2018 after making a name for himself by publishing tracks on social media.