Freddie Gibbs Extradited to Austria by French Courts

Update

XXL has obtained the following comment from Scott Leemon, one of Freddie's attorneys. "The order was not surprising and it doesn't change the fact that these are false allegations," he wrote. "We are still hoping that once the public prosecutor in Austria interviews Freddie she will decide not to go forward. If she does decide to go forward, Freddie will fight the charges with everything he's got."

Original Story

When Freddie Gibbs was granted bail and released from custody last week (June 16) the question remained whether or not the rapper would be extradited to Austria, where he is facing rape allegations stemming from a 2015 incident. France24 reports today though that he will in fact be sent to Austria after a French court on Thursday (June 23) decided in favor of extradition.

Gibbs was released on what equates to about $56,000 bail and will be forced to face his charges in Austria. He was arrested on June 2 following a European arrest warrant issued May 31. He has 72 hours to appeal the extradition should he wish to do so, which his lawyer, Michael Malka, says the rapper is considering. Malka also added that Gibbs "has no intention of escaping justice, whether French or Austrian."

Malka as well reinforced the notion that Gibbs maintains his innocence, and noted that he wass opposed to "harsh transfer procedure" and would prefer to hand himself over to Austrian authorities freely.

As a result of the arrest, Gibbs has had to cancel additional European concert dates in France and Portugal, and has all together done away with the Canadian leg of his Shadow of a Doubt tour. XXL will continue to update this story as news develops, with Gibbs' American lawyer Scott Leemon having said previously that "it is really shocking these allegations were ever filed against him,” and that "Freddie will fight them with everything he has."

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