Moroccan Pop Star’s Rape Appeal Trial Set to Begin in Paris

The appeal court hearings will begin on June 2 in a Parisian court and continue until June 6, according to a French lawyer following the case and quoted on the X platform. Saad Lamjarred is therefore expected to return to court. His plaintiff, Laura Prioul, is expected to be present at the hearings. Each of them should bring new elements to this case.

In February 2023, the Paris Court of Assizes sentenced Lamjarred to six years in prison for aggravated rape in this case dating back to 2016. On April 20, 2023, he was released from prison after being granted provisional release.

Artistically, the accusations of rape and sexual assault have cost the singer dearly. In 2020, a concert scheduled in Cairo had to be canceled at the last minute following calls for boycott from some Egyptians on social media. In 2024, the number of views of his songs on the YouTube platform recorded a worrying decline. In a social media post, Lamjarred explained that the decrease in the number of plays of his songs was due to restrictions imposed by YouTube, particularly by preventing certain forms of advertising so that his works do not reach the public because of the rape case.

Last February, civil society organizations criticized the awarding of the "Love Brand 2025" prize to Saad by the association Les Impériales, still because of the same case. Faced with these protests, the association had to remove the promotion of this award from its platforms.