BEIRUT (AP) — A Lebanese pop star turned Islamist militant who surrendered this month after 12 years on the run appeared in Beirut court Tuesday for the first time.

Fadel Shaker had been hiding out in the Palestinian refugee camp of Ein el-Hilweh since bloody street clashes erupted between Sunni Muslim militants and the Lebanese army in June 2013 in the coastal city of Sidon.

He was tried in absentia and sentenced to 22 years in prison in 2020 for providing support to a “terrorist group.”

As part of the deal that persuaded Shaker to turn himself in, the sentences he received while on the run would be dropped and he would be questioned in preparation to stand trial on new charges of committing crimes against the military. Tuesday’s court appearance was a preliminary questioning session.

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