Lebanese singer Fadel Shaker (C) takes part in a demonstration lead by Salafist figure Sheikh Ahmad al-Assir (unseen) to protest against the Syrian regime in the southern city of Saida on Oct. 7, 2012. (Credit: Mahmoud Zayyat/AFP)
BEIRUT — The Military Court, presided over by Gen. Wassim Fayad, lifted the travel ban imposed on Lebanese-Palestinian singer Fadl Shaker, the state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported Wednesday.
Shaker, once one of the Arab world's most popular singers before becoming associated with the Salafist movement, surrendered to Lebanese authorities in October 2025 after spending 12 years as a fugitive in the Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp. He was released last week.
According to a source cited by news outlet al-Modon, the decision to lift the travel ban is accompanied by procedural measures tied to his ongoing trial, with his next court hearing postponed from August to September. Shaker will be required to attend future hearings and comply with the remaining judicial procedures, but the source said these requirements will not permanently restrict his freedom of movement.
The source added that the Lebanese Army command helped facilitate the legal process by removing administrative obstacles. The measures follow a review of the case files, including testimony from soldiers who, according to al-Modon, denied that Shaker had directly participated in the 2013 clashes between the army and supporters of radical cleric Ahmad al-Assir in Abra, near Saida.
Five days earlier, Syrian Culture Minister Mohammad Yassine Saleh publicly invited Shaker to visit Syria in a post on X, saying he should be honored "as he deserves." Saleh praised the singer's support for the Syrian people and the Syrian uprising, adding that "the scenes of Damascus" await his return "to let his free voice resonate."
Shaker is being prosecuted in four cases related to his alleged involvement in the 2013 Abra clashes, in which supporters of Sheikh Ahmad al-Assir battled the Lebanese Army, leaving 18 soldiers dead. At the time of his release, a judicial source said he had posted two bail payments totaling about $3,500.
During his years as a fugitive in Ain al-Hilweh, which lies outside the effective control of Lebanese authorities, Shaker was tried in absentia and sentenced to prison terms ranging from five to 15 years with hard labor in several cases. In the months before his surrender, he released several songs that topped charts across the Arab world, while music videos filmed inside Ain al-Hilweh amassed hundreds of millions of views on YouTube.
Assir was arrested in 2015. He was sentenced to death in 2017 on terrorism-related charges.
