Moroccan singer Saad Lamjarred was sentenced by the Var Assize Court to five years in prison for the rape of a young woman he met in Saint-Tropez during the summer of 2018. The verdict was delivered Friday evening after a week-long trial held behind closed doors before the Var jury.
The artist appeared in court as a free man during the trial. Despite the sentence handed down, the court did not issue an immediate arrest warrant, considering that Saad Lamjarred had complied with the terms of his judicial supervision since his release after three months of pre-trial detention in 2018.
A legal case that has been ongoing for several years
The alleged events stem from a party in Saint-Tropez during which the complainant accused the singer of raping her in a hotel room after they met at a nightclub. Saad Lamjarred denied the accusations and maintained from the outset that the encounter was consensual.
Hugely popular in the Arab world, the artist had already faced several legal proceedings in France related to accusations of sexual assault. His public image had been deeply affected by these various cases, despite the continued strong support of his fans in Morocco and several other Middle Eastern countries.
The defense remains silent after the verdict
Following the trial, the singer's lawyer, Christian Saint-Palais, declined to comment to the press. The defense now has a period of time to appeal the conviction to a new court.
The court decision comes amid heightened vigilance regarding sexual violence in the entertainment and music industries. For several years, numerous artists and media personalities have been targeted by similar legal proceedings in France in the wake of the #MeToo movement.
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