HIBAPRESS – Arts Section
A new round of the marathon trial of Moroccan star Saad Lamjarred begins on Thursday before the Court of Appeal in France. This is in connection with the initial ruling issued against him in 2023, which sentenced him to six years in prison after being convicted of raping a young woman in the capital, Paris, dating back to 2016.
The case dates back to the night Lamjarred met the young woman, "Laura B.," in a nightclub in Paris before heading to the hotel. The Criminal Court convicted the Moroccan artist on charges of rape and assault. In contrast, Lamjarred (41 years old) continues to vehemently deny these accusations, asserting that no sexual relationship occurred, while acknowledging during investigations that he paid her after being scratched during a kiss exchange.
The appeal hearings are being held in the "Creteil" area near Paris and are scheduled to continue until September 25th. The trial had previously been adjourned in June 2025 for further investigations. Lamjarred is appearing before the judicial panel while on bail under judicial supervision.
In this context, lawyer David Schimi, a member of the victim's defense team, confirmed to AFP agency that his client expects the conviction to be upheld based on what he described as "firm evidence" in the file, pointing to the ongoing psychological burden his client has suffered due to a case that is exceptionally close to twelve years old.
The Moroccan artist's legal troubles do not end here, as he faces another appeal ruling for a five-year prison sentence in France in a separate case, following his conviction for raping another young woman near "Saint-Tropez" in 2018, in addition to previous convictions and similar accusations that have previously followed him in Morocco and the United States.
This judicial stage puts the artistic future of the Moroccan icon at stake, amidst wide anticipation for the deliberations of the Court of Appeal in one of the most controversial cases in the artistic community.
