Moroccan singer Saad Lamjarred sentenced to 10 years on appeal for rape in Créteil
The Créteil court of appeal increased the sentence for Saad Lamjarred on Saturday to ten years imprisonment for aggravated rape. The defence has announced an application for cassation.
Sentence increased on appeal for Saad Lamjarred: ten years imprisonment
Moroccan singer Saad Lamjarred was sentenced on Saturday 26 September to ten years imprisonment by the Créteil court of appeal for aggravated rape, according to midilibre.fr. The sentence exceeds that handed down at first instance: in 2023, the Paris court of assizes had sentenced him to six years in prison.
The public prosecutor's office, which had sought eight years imprisonment, clarified to the AFP that the sentence was accompanied by a remand in custody order. The rape is classified as aggravated due to the accused's intoxicated state at the time of the facts. Lamjarred has also been entered in the register of perpetrators of sexual offences.
The facts date back to 2016
The 41-year-old artist, very popular in Morocco and the Arab world with more than 15 million followers on Instagram and nearly 16 million on YouTube, was found guilty of raping Laura P. in 2016 in a Paris hotel room. The victim, aged 20 at the time of the facts, had met the singer — then aged 31 — in a nightclub in the capital.
The appeal trial was held in camera in Créteil, after being postponed in June 2025 to conduct additional investigations.
The defence announces an application for cassation
Ms Marie Burguburu, one of the singer's lawyers, indicated to the AFP that an application for cassation would be filed. Lamjarred has proclaimed his innocence throughout the proceedings.
His other counsel, Me Ouadie Elhamamouchi, vigorously contested the decision: "This decision is incomprehensible. The court had before its eyes the demonstration that the plaintiff had attempted, from 2017 onwards, to monetise the withdrawal of her complaint. It had before its eyes the proof that in 2025, the plaintiff and her entourage had again attempted to obtain from Saad Lamjarred the sum of three million euros, presented as the price of his freedom."
He added: "How can one condemn a man to ten years in prison on the sole word of a person who, on two occasions, put a price on her complaint?"
The lawyers for the civil party, Ms David Chemmi and Victorien de Faria, for their part considered that the sentence is explained "in particular by the worrying profile of the accused, but also by the particularly aggressive strategy adopted" towards the plaintiff. They clarified that "the systematic questioning of her word, as well as the attacks directed against investigators and experts, were clearly poorly received by the jurors".
An attempted extortion case tried in parallel
In April, five people were sentenced for attempted extortion against the singer: three million euros had been demanded in order for the complaint to be withdrawn and for the plaintiff not to testify. Laura P. was acquitted in this case, but her mother, a lawyer and an influencer were convicted, along with two other people, to sentences ranging from six months to two years imprisonment with suspension.
Other ongoing cases
In separate proceedings, Saad Lamjarred was sentenced in May to five years in prison by the court of assizes of the Var, in Draguignan, for the rape of a young woman in 2018 near Saint-Tropez. He has appealed this decision.
The artist had also been implicated in similar cases in 2015 in Morocco and in 2010 in the United States, where a procedure for rape and sexual assault was closed after a financial settlement with the victim.
Source: Google News LU FR