Rabat– The appeal trial of Moroccan singer Saad Lamjarred, 41, began today in France, following his six-year prison sentence for rape handed down in 2023.
The Paris Criminal Court convicted Lamjarred of raping and assaulting Laura P. in a hotel room in 2016 after the two met at a nightclub in Paris. Lamjarred has consistently maintained his innocence since the initial ruling.
During the original trial, Lamjarred denied having sexual relations with Laura P. He acknowledged only that he had “brutally pushed” her in the face, saying he did so after she scratched him while they were kissing.
The appeal proceedings, which are expected to continue until September 25, were initially scheduled for June 2025 in Créteil, near Paris, but were postponed to allow for additional investigations.
Lamjarred will appear before the court while free under judicial supervision. The proceedings are also likely to be held behind closed doors at the request of the civil party, according to Laura P.’s lawyer, Victorien De Faria, who told AFP that this would be “for the serenity of the proceedings.”
Lamjarred is also appealing a separate five-year prison sentence handed down by a court in France’s Var region for the rape of a young woman in 2018 near Saint-Tropez.
The singer has previously faced similar allegations in Morocco in 2015 and in the United States in 2010.
Ten years of proceedings
Ahead of the appeal hearing, David Chemmi, one of Laura P.’s lawyers, said she continues to suffer from the consequences of the 2016 incident.
“The victim is still suffering from the consequences of the incident… The psychological pressure continues because she still has to face the person who assaulted her,” Chemmi said.
Speaking to AFP, Chemmi also said he believed Lamjarred would “probably be convicted, except in the event of an exceptional turn of events,” adding that he considered the case file to contain elements supporting the occurrence of the alleged events.
Chemmi described the case as having lasted 10 years and said the proceedings had severely affected his client, who, according to the lawyer, continues to experience significant stress over having to face Lamjarred again.
