RABAT: A Moroccan court reduced French rapper Maes’s prison sentence over charges including attempted kidnapping from seven years to one, his lawyer said Friday.

Moroccan news site Medias 24 reported that Maes — who has roots in Morocco and whose real name is Walid Georgey — was expected to be released as he had already spent nearly two years behind bars.

“I wish to report the decision handed down on November 6, 2026 by the Tangier Court of Appeal, which significantly reduced the sentence imposed on my client, from seven years in prison to 12 months,” lawyer Said Harir said in a statement.

“We welcome this decision.”

Maes was arrested upon landing in Morocco in January 2025 after fleeing the United Arab Emirates where he feared he could be extradited to France.

He was charged with forming a criminal gang and attempted kidnapping.

French authorities had issued an international arrest warrant against him.

The rapper with over a billion views on his YouTube channel was accused of tasking a gang and hitmen with killing a rival, but the plot was foiled, according to several reports.