Algeria’s intelligence services have reportedly accused renowned musician Khaled Hadj Ibrahim known as Cheb Khaled of spying for Morocco against Algeria, Algerian investigative journalist Abdou Semmar said in a video on his YouTube channel, on Saturday.
The journalist revealed that the artist’s lawyer in Paris received a note stating that the singer was wanted as part of an espionage investigation.
Since obtaining Moroccan nationality in 2013, Khaled has been regarded as a “close associate of King Mohammed VI,” according to Semmar. The nationality lends further weight to the accusations in Algeria, where any connection to Morocco is often viewed with distrust.
The singer’s relationship with the Bennacer brothers, Toufik and Boualem, prompted heightened suspicions due to their alleged involvement in the transfer of sensitive information to foreign “enemy powers,” citing Morocco as a particular concern.
The affair began when investigators from the Central Directorate for the Security of the Armed Forces (DCSA) searched Boualem Bennacer’s home in Algiers and found a photograph of Cheb Khaled with the brothers.
Investigators relied on a single photograph to accuse the singer of spying against the country. Since the singer, known as the King of Rai, is a civilian and not a military figure, the investigation, which initially began under the military tribunal of Blida, was transferred to the Bir Mourad Raïs tribunal in Algiers.
Khaled, who lives in Europe, was a strong supporter of former president Abdelaziz Bouteflika and has not returned to Algeria since Abdelmadjid Tebboune was elected president in 2019.
Semmar claimed that Khaled is “unwelcome” in Algeria because of his Moroccan nationality and ties to the king, citing declarations made by the singer’s close entourage.