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Rabat – The Saad Lamjarred case is making quite a stir on Moroccan social media platforms, with the singer’s supporters and critics engaging in acrimonious debates following his conviction on charges of rape.
Almost immediately after Saad Lmajarred was sentenced to six years in prison on charges of aggravated rape on Thursday, two diametrically opposed camps of Moroccan commenters — especially including fellow celebrities and singers — took to social media to either castigate Lamajarred or — mostly — express solidarity and support.
Some of his supporters cast doubt on the verdict of the Paris court that found him guilty of sexual assault, arguing the rape allegations are baseless.
Dunia Batma, a Moroccan singer, who received a one-year prison sentence after being convicted of blackmail in 2021, shared a post today on Instagram extending her prayers and sympathy with Lamjarred — and indignation at Laura Prioul, the French woman whose complaint brought Lamjarred to trial.
“Not quite sure what to say… I pray for my brother Saad, his parents, and his fans… We stand with you and await your return,” Batma wrote, going on to express her indignation at Lamjarred’s French victim.
This is not the first time Saad Lamjarred was accused of rape. In 2010, an American woman first leveled charges of rape against the singer, and he also faced charges of rape in France in 2016 and 2018.
Lamjarred has 10 days to appeal the Paris court’s verdict condemning him to serve six years in prison. That verdict is for the 2016 sexual assault case, while investigations into the 2018 case are still ongoing.
Read also: To Boycott or Not to Boycott: How Saad Lamjarred Is Dividing Moroccans
Another Moroccan singer, Hatim Ammor, also took to Instagram to express sympathy for the prison-facing 33-year-old singer.
Posting a picture showing him with Lamjarred, Ammor wrote: “The eye tears and the heart mourns, and we are very sad over the ordeal. I pray to God to inspire you with patience and strength.”
View this post on Instagram
While most commenting celebrities seemed to be convinced that Lamjarred is innocent, others took a slightly different stance by arguing that he might have committed a mistake. “God is all forgiving,” Moroccan actress Mariam Hussein said in an Instagram post as she appeared to take issue with the victim.
Laura Prioul, the French woman who accused Lamjarred of raping her in a hotel, should have expected “nothing less” after going with a male celebrity to his hotel room “after a night of partying.”
Throughout the remainder of her post, the Moroccan actress appeared to argue that the case against Lamjarred could be a simple political conspiracy aiming to end his career.
A six-year prison sentence is not enough
On the other side of the argument, many Moroccans hailed the verdict as just, saying they were only sorry to see Lamjarred serve six years instead of a “much deserved 20 years.”
A Moroccan Twitter user shared a video arguing that people who continue to defend Saad Lamjarred are in fact “mentally enslaved.”
Other social media users welcomed the prison sentence, tweeting: “Saad Lamjarred finally going to rot in jail? and for six years???? we prayed for times like THIS!”
To express their indignation at the disgraced singer, some particularly enraged social media users went as far as accusing some of Lamjarred’s supporters of complicity in what they described as rape culture.
Moroccan celebrities sympathizing with Lamjarred is an attempt to normalize rape, argued this group of critics, with one tweeting: “Moroccan artists supporting saad Lamjarred because they are rapists as well.”
