Moroccan singer Saad Lamjarred sentenced to 10 years on appeal for rape in Paris
The Créteil appellate court has increased Saad Lamjarred's sentence to ten years imprisonment for aggravated rape. The artist, who was sentenced to six years in 2023, plans to appeal to the Court of Cassation.
Saad Lamjarred's sentence increased to ten years on appeal, convicted of aggravated rape
Moroccan singer Saad Lamjarred was sentenced on Saturday 26 September to ten years imprisonment on appeal for aggravated rape, a significantly heavier sentence than that imposed at first instance, according to huffingtonpost.fr. In 2023, the Paris criminal court had sentenced him to six years imprisonment for the same offences.
The public prosecutor's office, which had requested eight years, confirmed to AFP that the conviction included the aggravating circumstance of the singer being intoxicated at the time of the offence. A remand warrant was issued and Lamjarred was also registered on the sexual offenders' register.
Facts date back to 2016
The 41-year-old artist was found guilty of raping Laura P. in 2016 in a Parisian hotel room. The victim, who was 20 years old at the time, had met the singer in a nightclub in the capital. Lamjarred, who was 31 years old at the time, denies the facts and proclaims his innocence. His lawyer, Me Marie Burguburu, told AFP that her client intended to appeal to the Court of Cassation.
The appeal trial was held in camera in Créteil, following a postponement in June 2025 to allow for further investigations.
An extortion attempt connected to the case
The case took on an additional dimension last April, when five people were sentenced for attempted extortion against the singer. Three million euros were reportedly demanded in exchange for the withdrawal of the complaint and the complainant's absence from the hearings. Laura P. was acquitted in this part of the case, but her mother, a lawyer and an influencer, as well as two other individuals, each received sentences ranging from six months to two years imprisonment suspended.
Me Ouadie Elhamamouchi, Lamjarred's lawyer, sharply criticised the decision: "This decision is incomprehensible. The court had before it evidence that the complainant had attempted, as early as 2017, to monetise the abandonment of her complaint." He added: "How can one condemn a man to ten years in prison solely on the word of a person who, on two occasions, put a price on her complaint?"
The lawyers for the civil party, Mes David Chemmi and Victorien de Faria, for their part considered that the sentence is explained notably by "the worrying profile of the accused" and by "the particularly aggressive strategy" adopted towards Laura P. According to them, "the systematic questioning of her word, just as the attacks directed at the investigators and experts, were clearly poorly received by the jurors".
An already substantial criminal record
This is not the first time that Saad Lamjarred's name has been associated with accusations of a sexual nature. Similar cases had been reported 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.
Last May, the criminal court of the Var sentenced him furthermore to five years imprisonment for the rape of a young woman in 2018 near Saint-Tropez. The singer has also appealed this judgment.
Highly popular in the Arab world, Lamjarred has over 15 million followers on Instagram and nearly 16 million on his YouTube channel.
Source: Google News LU FR