Batma is facing charges of blackmail and paid bail to be released from police custody, but she is not allowed to leave Morocco.
Rabat – The husband of Moroccan pop singer Dounia Batma has denied that his wife attempted to flee the Moroccan judicial system by catching a flight to Bahrain, her husband’s home country. Mohamed Al Turk told Moroccan outlet Le360 that his wife accompanied him to Casablanca’s Mohammed V International Airport for his own flight to Bahrain on Friday, January 3.
Al Turk, who also acts as Batma’s manager, said he ended up missing his flight. “Dounia did not intend to travel, she only [came] to accompany me,” Al Turk told the outlet.
Several Moroccan news outlets said Dounia Batma attempted to flee to Bahrain.
Batma is under investigation by Moroccan prosecutors in the “Hamza mon bb” case, a reference to a Snapchat and Instagram account used to share embarrassing videos and photos of celebrities, allegedly for blackmail.
Last week, police summoned Dounia Batma and her sister, Ibtissam Batma, for questioning. Police then referred the case to prosecutors. The prosecutors announced charges against Batma on Monday, December 30.
Batma and her sister, Ibtissam Batma, are facing charges of defamation, blackmail, and sharing people’s statements and photos without their consent. The sisters could face prison time if convicted.
Dounia and Ibtissam paid bail of MAD 500,000 each ($52,000) to be released from police custody. Some outlets reported the bail to be MAD 400,000. The terms of their bail do not allow them to leave Morocco.
Read also: Dounia Batma Appears Laughing in Video After Release on Bail
Earlier this week, the public prosecutor at the Marrakech Court of First Instance appealed the sisters’ release, which an investigating judge had granted.
Dounia Batma’s songs have millions of views on YouTube. Her song Maziane Waer has 52 million views on the site.
