Moroccan pop star Saad Lamjarred appeared before a French appeals court on Monday, June 2, as he continues to contest his 2023 conviction for rape with violence.
The hearing at the Val-de-Marne Assize Court of Appeal was postponed indefinitely, with the court citing the need for further investigation before proceeding.
Lamjarred, 40, was found guilty by the Paris Assize Court in 2023 of raping and physically assaulting a 20-year-old woman, Laura P., in a Paris hotel room in 2016 after the two met in a nightclub. The court sentenced him to six years in prison.
The Moroccan artist has consistently denied the rape charge, although he admitted to physically assaulting the woman, claiming he “brutally pushed in the face” the victim after she scratched him during a kiss.
The victim’s lawyers emphasized the toll the years-long case has taken. “This new trial represents much more than a procedure for our client. It is the hope of a full and definitive justice done,” they told AFP, as cited by CNews. They noted that “after 9 years of proceedings, it is a new ordeal that is imposed on our client,” lamenting the prolonged delay.
Lamjarred’s defense team declined to comment ahead of the retrial, which had been expected to deliver a verdict by the end of this week. That schedule has now been pushed back following the postponement.
The case has been deeply controversial from the outset, not least because of the political intervention that followed Lamjarred’s 2016 arrest. The King of Morocco, who previously awarded Lamjarred the country’s highest national honor, took the unusual step of publicly intervening to cover the singer’s legal fees.
This is not the only allegation Lamjarred faces. He is also due to stand trial in the Var Assize Court in Draguignan for a separate but similar accusation dating back to 2018 in Saint-Tropez. That trial has yet to be scheduled. Additionally, Lamjarred had also been accused of sexual assault in other cases in New York and Casablanca, Morocco, though those cases did not lead to convictions.
Despite his legal troubles, Lamjarred remains a major celebrity in the Arab world, boasting more than 15 million Instagram followers and nearly 16 million subscribers on YouTube.
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