Story By: James King, Sub-Editor: Marija Stojkoska, Agency: Newsflash

A Lebanese pop singer whose good looks made him the darling of the 90s in his homeland where he was dubbed ‘King of Romance’ has been jailed after becoming radicalised and using his earnings to fund terrorism.

Fadel Shaker, 51, has been jailed for 22 years after being convicted on two counts of involvement in terrorist acts and providing Islamic extremists with logistical support. The convictions will be added to the two years he has already received for organising a terrorist attack.

The court also fined him LBP 5 million (GBP 2,450) for funding militant group led by hardline Muslim leader Ahmed Al-Assir.

Al-Assir was arrested while trying to flee to Egypt after undergoing plastic surgery to alter his appearance. After his capture, he was sentenced to death by a military court in September 2017.

The singer’s sentencing was made in absentia as the 90s heartthrob is currently on the run.

He made a small fortune in the music business with a career that started with the release of his album ‘The Seller of Hearts’.

He dropped out of the music business in 2012 after becoming a follower of Lebanon’s radical cleric Ahmad Al-Assir.

Among other crimes, the singer was given a jail sentence for supporting the 2013 attack on soldiers in the southern Lebanese city of Sidon that left 18 dead and was reportedly carried out by supporters of Al-Assir.

The court gave him a two-year sentence for orchestrating the attack, 15 years for knowingly providing logistical support, and seven years for financing the clerics’ armed resistance group.

His exact whereabouts are unknown, however it is believed that he is living in a Palestinian refugee camp located south-east of Sidon.

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