Versailles Court of Appeal confirms Achraf Hakimi sent to trial for rape
The instructing chamber of the Versailles Court of Appeal rejected the appeal by Moroccan footballer Achraf Hakimi against his committal for trial on rape charges. The PSG player will be tried for acts dating back to February 2023.
Versailles Court of Appeal confirms Achraf Hakimi sent to trial for rape
The Versailles Court of Appeal validated on Friday morning the decision of an investigating judge to send Moroccan international footballer Achraf Hakimi, defender for Paris Saint-Germain, before the assizes court for rape allegations. Source: News.ro
The 27-year-old international, who contests the accusations, had appealed at the end of February against the committal for trial pronounced against him. The instructing chamber rejected this appeal. The sportsman will now be tried for rape before the criminal court.
The events date back to late February 2023. A 24-year-old young woman claims to have met the player on the social network Instagram in January of the same year. According to elements from the police investigation, she is said to have gone to the footballer's home in a vehicle with a driver arranged by him. She maintains that he kissed her and touched her without her consent before raping her. The complainant says she subsequently managed to push him away and was picked up by a friend alerted by text message.
During the hearing before the instructing chamber in May, the defence had requested the case to be dropped. The player's lawyer, Fanny Colin, argued that the accusation rested solely on the word of a woman who, according to her, was hindering investigations. She had also mentioned the existence of messages exchanged between the complainant and a friend in which they allegedly planned to "rob" Mr Hakimi.
The young woman, who uses the pseudonym Jeanne, spoke to the press for the first time on Thursday evening on the Mediapart website. She stated that she was awaiting the trial with a desire to defend herself and be heard. "I want to justify myself. I want to be believed," she added.
Despite the severity of the charges against him, Achraf Hakimi is currently competing in the World Cup with Morocco's national team in the United States. He began the competition wearing the captain's armband.
Source: News.ro