Moroccan Pop Star Saad Lamjarred on Trial for Alleged 2016 Paris Hotel Rape

Laura Prioul says she is impatient to face Saad Lamjarred during this "trial she is waiting for," her lawyer Me Jean-Marc Descoubès said. The singer’s lawyers, Jean-Marc Fedida and Thierry Herzog, did not wish to speak before the opening of the trial. The psychiatric expert who examined the singer during the investigation described a man with "immature" behavior, endowed with an "oversized ego that limits his tolerance to frustrations".

Saad Lamjarred has hundreds of millions of views on YouTube and remains one of the voices that have relaunched the debate on violence against women in Morocco. Despite the accusations against him and the fact that he faces up to 20 years in prison, the artist is supported by his fans.

The facts that now weigh on the artist date back to October 2016. Laura Prioul, the alleged victim aged 20 at the time, says she was sexually assaulted by Saad Lamjarred after an evening loaded with alcohol and cocaine. Some hotel employees told investigators they had helped "a young woman with a torn shirt in tears, terrified, and stopped the presumably drunk man who was chasing her."

The singer, on the other hand, maintains that he had defended himself against Laura Prioul who had become violent while they were having a good time. He says he chased her to "avoid the scandal".