Moroccan Singer Saad Lamjarred Gets 10-Year Jail Term in France for 2016 Sexual Assault
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Summarized by AI; it may make mistakes. Check important info
An appeals court in Creteil, south-east of Paris, has sentenced Moroccan singer Saad Lamjarred to 10 years in prison for raping a woman in a Paris hotel in 2016.
The 41-year-old singer, who has maintained his innocence, was reportedly ordered into custody after Saturday’s verdict. His lawyer, Marie Burguburu, told Agence France-Presse that Lamjarred plans to challenge the ruling before France’s Court of Cassation.
Heavier Sentence on Appeal
Lamjarred was convicted of raping Laura B., who was 20 when she met him at a nightclub before the incident at a Paris hotel. Lamjarred was 31 at the time.
The latest sentence is four years longer than the six-year prison term handed down by the Paris Assize Court in 2023. French prosecutors had reportedly sought an eight-year sentence in the appeal case.
Prosecutors reportedly said the rape conviction was aggravated by Lamjarred being under the influence of alcohol.
David Chimi, a lawyer representing Laura B., said the severity of the sentence could partly be linked to concerns raised during the proceedings and what he described as an “extremely aggressive” defence strategy towards the complainant.
He said repeated challenges to her account, along with criticism directed at investigators and experts, appeared to have made a poor impression on the jury.
Separate Rape Conviction
The verdict comes months after Lamjarred received a separate five-year prison sentence from an assize court in Draguignan, southern France, over the rape of a young woman near Saint-Tropez in 2018. He has reportedly appealed that conviction.
In April, five people were convicted of attempting to extort Lamjarred by demanding €3 million in exchange for withdrawing the 2016 complaint and preventing Laura B. from testifying at trial.
Laura B. was acquitted in that case. Her mother, a lawyer, a social media influencer and two other people reportedly received suspended sentences ranging from six months to two years.
Lamjarred has also faced allegations in other cases, including proceedings in Morocco in 2015 and the United States in 2010. The US case involving allegations of rape and sexual assault was later closed following a financial settlement.
Despite the legal cases, Lamjarred remains one of the Arab world’s most widely followed performers.
He has more than 15 million followers on Instagram and around 16 million subscribers on YouTube.
