He is a Moroccan star, known throughout the Middle East. Actor and singer Saad Lamjarred, 37, is appearing from this Monday, February 20, 2022 before the Paris Assize Court, for aggravated rape. He faces 20 years in prison. A young Frenchwoman, Laura, accuses him of having assaulted her in October 2016, in her hotel room in Paris, where Saad Lamjarred was to give a concert.
What happened six and a half years ago in room 714 of the Marriott hotel on the Champs-Elysées in Paris? October 26, 2016in the morning, Laura, then aged 20, runs out of the establishment, her t-shirt torn, traces of blows on her face, recalls Moissonniere Marine. In tears, she tells hotel employees that she was raped by Saad Lamjarred, whom she met the day before in a nightclub.
To the investigators, the young woman will explain that she has agreed to continue the evening in the singer’s room. There they kissed, but she refused to go any further. Saad Lamjarred, who had been drinking alcohol and using cocaine, then allegedly became aggressive and raped her.
For her part, the Moroccan star claims that it was she who suddenly scratched him. He would have only defended himself and would never have sexually assaulted her. According to a psychiatric report, Saad Lamjarred has ” an oversized ego and a low frustration tolerance.
At the same time, Laura apprehends and is eager for this trial to take place. She dreads being confronted with her attacker. It will be an ordeal, but you have to go through it to try to rebuild yourself on solid foundations and continue your life as a young woman.
Accuser’s lawyer Laura speaks ahead of the start of the aggravated rape trial of Saad Lamjarred in Paris
The singer, supported by Mohammed VI, has also been implicated in three other similar cases since 2010. In one of them, a Franco-Moroccan ended up withdrawing her complaint, under pressure from her own family. Another, in the United States, concluded with a financial agreement.
The singer remains very popular in Morocco
Despite the charges against him, Saad Lamjarred remains adored in Morocco. In his country, the pop stat is unanimous, underlines our correspondent in Rabat, Nadia Ben Mahfoudh. Some Moroccans, like Amira, even give him unfailing support.
” Saad does us proud. He is a Moroccan singer but he is known throughout the Maghreb. So inevitably, an artist of this weight can have enemies who wish to harm him. It’s impossible for a person of his rank to do such things. »
While Saad Lamjarred must be tried for aggravated rape, some of his supporters believe that this is a matter of his private life. ” I read that in the press, but no comments on this subject. It’s his private life, he has the right to live it as he pleases. For us, Saad Lamjarred is our pride “, insists Abdelkader, a fan.
The singer is not his first accusation. In these French cases, the palace of King Mohammed VI had announced, at the time of his indictment, the payment of his legal costs.