Rapper Maes: the high-stakes trial in Morocco

The Tangier Court of Appeal will examine the case of Walid Georgey, known by his stage name Maes, starting this Thursday, January 29. In November 2025, the criminal court had sentenced him in the first instance to seven years in prison for criminal conspiracy, attempted kidnapping, and illegal sequestration, after eleven months of pre-trial detention.

The trial involves a total of eleven defendants, with sentences ranging from one year suspended to ten years in prison. In addition to acts of violence, some members of the group are being prosecuted for international drug trafficking and document forgery. The Customs Administration, which joined as a civil party, obtained a joint conviction of three defendants to pay 23.6 million dirhams in the first instance.

The artist’s legal horizon is also darkening in Europe. Maes was sentenced in absentia to ten months in prison in Paris in June 2024 for other offenses. More recently, on January 21, he was presented to the Tangier prosecutor as part of a request for judicial assistance related to suspicions of incitement to murder on French territory.

The outcome of this second trial is crucial for one of the most popular rappers of his generation. The Court of Appeal must now decide whether to confirm, reduce or cancel the initial sanctions. Confirmation of the sentence would be a major setback for the performer of "Madrina".