Rabat – – The Assise Court of Paris sentenced on Friday Moroccan singer Saad Lamjarred to six years in prison.
The court said it found Lamjarred guilty of rape by seven votes out of nine.
The singer has been facing rape charges after a French woman called Laura Prioul accused him of sexually assaulting her in October 2016.
The complainant also accused the singer of beating her several times after she rejected his advances.
Lamjarred, however, maintained his innocence, stressing that he “never penetrated” the complainant.
RFI journalist Marine DelaMoisssoniere, who has been attending the trial, said that the court’s president and jury members were convinced that there had been forced intercourse between Lamjarred and the victim.
The court president said that the absence of DNA does not mean that “there was no penetration,” the journalist reported.
However, the court stressed that there was DNA on Prioul’s clothes.
The court also took into account other elements, including testimonies from a number of employees at the hotel where Lamjarred allegedly raped Prioul.
Lamjarred has ten days to appeal the court’s verdict.
Prioul reportedly broke down in tears after the court announced its verdict.
Prior to the court’s decision, Lamjarred thanked the judge for having heard his version of the story.
“I tried to express myself during this hearing, to tell you the truth from the bottom of my heart, sincerely, because I did not do what I was accused of. I insist, Mrs. President, I have never ever penetrated Mrs. Laura P. and I insist on that,” he said.
During the hearing, which started earlier this week, the singer said that he and Prioul “kissed repeatedly,” and that she allowed him to undress her.
“I had a bad reflex that I regret today; I brutally pushed her face away. I am ashamed. No man should hit a woman,” he said during his hearing, adding that his action was a reaction to her scratching his back.
On Friday, the public prosecutor at the court demanded a seven-year prison sentence for Lamjarred and asked for the court to ban him from entering French territory for five years.
Lamjarred is one of the most popular artists in Morocco, North Africa, and across the Middle East.
His songs have attracted hundreds of millions of views on various online platforms.
