Saad Lamjarred appeals rape conviction, fights French justice

The 41-year-old artist has no intention of letting this rest. Through his lawyer, Christian Saint-Palais, it has been learned that he has officially appealed his conviction handed down on Friday, May 15th. After four days of a trial held behind closed doors before the Draguignan assize court, he received a five-year prison sentence without immediate detention order. He must also pay 30,000 euros in damages to the plaintiff, as well as 5,000 euros for court costs. The prosecutor initially demanded ten years of criminal imprisonment, but the defense consistently pleaded for outright acquittal.

On Bladi.net : Saad Lamjarred Sentenced 5 Years Prison Rape Conviction

The facts date back to August 2018. The performer of the famous song "M3allem" meets a young French woman, aged 28 at the time, in a nightclub in Saint-Tropez. She claims to have suffered violent sexual assault in the celebrity’s hotel room following her refusal to kiss him, while the accused maintains that the intimate relationship was entirely consensual. The investigating chamber in Aix-en-Provence dismissed this argument, recalling that entering a room in no way constitutes sexual consent. This case adds to a heavy past for the singer, already involved in similar matters in Morocco in 2015 and in the United States in 2010, where a financial settlement had allowed the case to be closed.

On Bladi.net : Saad Lamjarred Prison Sentence Threatens Music Career

In France, he must still face the Créteil assize appeal court following an initial conviction to six years in prison handed down in 2023. He is being tried there for the rape of Laura P., met in a Parisian club in 2016. This second trial remains however paralyzed by a bizarre extortion attempt. While the victim was acquitted, five people were sanctioned for attempting to extort three million euros from the star in exchange for dropping the proceedings. The plaintiff’s mother and her lawyer are among the convicted, the latter receiving a ten-year ban from practicing her profession with immediate execution.