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Rabat – Controversial Moroccan pop star Saad Lamjarred announced his return to Morocco in an Instagram video yesterday, August 14, causing a stir.
Lamjarred seemed in good spirits in the video despite his ongoing legal troubles, blowing a kiss for the camera. “Tomorrow, god willing, I’ll be coming back to Morocco for a visit!” he wrote. He did not say how long the visit will last.
The singer has been in Paris for the past few years, living freely but unable to leave France due to legal issues after a series of long rape complaints.
Despite the controversy, Lamjarred has still found success with his music, as his fanbase in Morocco remains loyal. His latest single, “Ensay” (“Forgotten,”) a duet with Egyptian star Mohamed Ramadan, has received more than 90 million views on YouTube since its release on July 19.
Sexual misconduct in France
Lamjarred’s legal troubles arose when a young French seasonal worker, Laura Prioul, filed a rape complaint against the Moroccan pop star in October 2017, saying Lamjarred “ruined her life by forcing himself upon her after he had rejected her.”
Police arrested Lamjarred, who then spent six months at the Marriott Champs Elysees prison in Paris. He was released in April 2018 on bail under electronic surveillance.
Police arrested the singer once again in August 2018 in Saint-Tropez in southeastern France, after another young woman came forward and filed a rape complaint against him.
On September 18, the singer went back to jail after a prosecutor appealed the release and the Aix-en-Provence Court of Appeals’ revoked his baill. The court then released Lamjarred in December.
Allegations dating back to 2010 leave the public divided
The rape complaints in France come as part of a long history of allegations. Lamjarred was first accused of rape back in 2010 in New York, but US prosecutors later dropped the case when the plaintiff withdrew.
The singer has left the Moroccan public divided, with many calling for a boycott of his music on Moroccan radio. The hashtag #Masaktach (I will not be hushed) went viral on social media, as part of the call on Moroccan radio stations to join the boycott initiative.
However, Lamjarred still has a loyal fanbase. In September 2018, fans launched a petition calling on his former lawyer, Eric Dupond Moretti, to come back and “save Saad’s future.”
“Saad Lamjarred, the Moroccan pop star, needs the help of Maitre Dupond Moretti, to get out of the claws of the trap in which he fell, on behalf of all the fans, we ask you to sign this petition which will be addressed to this illustrious lawyer. Our heartfelt thanks,” wrote the initiator of the petition.
The petition was signed by more than a thousand of Lamjarred’s fans.
Read also: More Women Accuse Saad Lamjarred of Sexual Assault
