The public prosecutor has requested seven years in prison and a five-year ban from French territory against the Moroccan singer, who has been on trial since Monday before the Paris Assize Court. For the Advocate General, as for those of Laura P., there is no doubt: Saad Lamjarred did indeed rape this 27-year-old French girl in October 2016. During their pleadings, the star’s lawyers have endeavored to demonstrate the opposite by all means.
Advocate General Jean-Christophe Muller did not believe a word of the version delivered by Saad Lamjarred. On Wednesday, on the third day of his trial, the singer, known throughout the Arab world, said that while they were kissing and undressing, Laura P. had suddenly scratched him on the back. He then had a bad reflex and had ” brutally pushed his face away “. Nothing more. No rape, no penetration of any kind, he had sworn.
But for the representative of the public prosecutor, this story does not hold and he lists the evidence: the injuries that the young woman presented all over her body and on the hymen. Those of the singer: lesions on the shoulder, neck and trunk, but no trace of scratches. There are also testimonials from hotel employees who saw Laura P. running out of the star’s room, ” terrorized and in tears. And then, Saad Lamjarred had been drinking and using cocaine, not Laura P. The Advocate General finally insists on “ relationship asymmetry “: ” a young woman of 20 years in the making ” in front of ” a 31-year-old man already settled in existence “.
Earlier in the afternoon, this Thursday, Laura P.’s advice had highlighted the “ three different versions » of the evening given by Saad Lamjarred, « a liar ” and one ” recidivist According to them, while their client, she has never varied in her statements. “ If Mr. Lamjarred didn’t do anything, why is he begging Laura not to call the police? “, insisted Me Jean-Marc Descoubès.
Not a sexual predator
Since the facts, Saad Lamjarred has voluntarily started a psychological and psychiatric follow-up, notes Jean-Christophe Muller at the end of his indictment. He no longer drinks or takes drugs. And above all, even if he is implicated in other similar rape cases, ” he is not a sexual predator According to the experts who examined it, points out the representative of the public prosecutor’s office. This is why, when he risked twenty years in prison, the Advocate General claims seven, accompanied by a five-year ban on French territory. On the bench, civil parties, dejected, looking exhausted, Laura P. seems not to believe it. His mother embraces him. Saad Lamjarred remains impassive.
It is then the turn of his lawyers to plead. What happened in this room is “ a scene behind closed doors ” without “ no witnesses (…) My client’s denials are worth as much as Laura P’s accusations. “Begins Me Thierry Herzog who believes that the file is empty. The gynecological examination revealed three small lesions of the hymen which ” can be related to a recent sexual intercourse, without being specific about it “, can we read in the medical report. It could just as well be the consequence of vaginal dryness, says the lawyer. Saad Lamjarred’s DNA traces found on Laura P.’s panties? A simple transfer when she lowered it after the singer touched her thighs. Finally, another element put forward by the defense: the absence of blood on the towel with which the young woman who was bleeding in the mouth, wiped herself.
Admittedly, Saad Lamjarred should never have attacked her when she scratched her, recognizes Me Jean-Marc Fedida, the star’s other lawyer. But Laura P. should never have agreed to go up to her room. ” She attended the worldly alcoholism of Saad Lamjarred. She saw him put cocaine on his nose. And no problem, she goes to the Marriott! thunders the lawyer. ” She knew ! he gets carried away, that he wanted to sleep with her. “ It was blinding even for a nun in a convent! “If she changed her mind and finally refused to have sex, ” it was his right “, he concedes.
“Wouldn’t she have looked for it a bit?” »
Saad Lamjarred’s lawyers devoted a good part of their pleadings to the life of Laura P., someone who ” knows the world of the night, masters its codes and knows how to stage herself in advantageous positions on social networks where she exchanges with strangers “, mocks Me Fedida. In the morning, they had shown 250 photos taken from her Instagram account: Laura P. partying, Laura P. with her dog, Laura P. in her underwear or swimsuit, Laura P. on vacation. .. As if to say ” wouldn’t she have looked for it a bit? “, gets angry the Advocate General in his indictment. He would like to point out: Laura P. is a 27 year old young woman living in the France of 2023 “. ” So what ? “had also reacted one of the advice of the young woman in her argument. “ She has the right to live! Or because she was raped, she should live in hiding? »
This Friday, Saad Lamjarred will speak one last time before the court retires. The verdict is expected during the day.