10-year prison sentence for Saad Lamjarred in rape case in France
The Court of Appeal in Créteil, southeast of Paris, has sentenced Moroccan singer Saad Lamjarred to 10 years in prison after convicting him in a rape case. The ruling included an order to detain Lamjarred, 41, in prison. According to the public prosecutor, he was convicted of rape under aggravating circumstances, including committing the offense while under the influence of alcohol. His lawyer, Marie Bourguibouro, a member of his defense team, stated that Lamjarred maintains his innocence and will appeal to the French Court of Cassation. Lamjarred’s father, Moroccan singer Al-Bashir Abdou, rejected the verdict against his son, describing it as unjust. He wrote on his Facebook account: “My son Saad is wronged, wronged, wronged, in the fullest sense of the word. An unjust verdict, despite all the clear evidence presented by the defense team before the trial judge and the public prosecutor. Our situation is known only to God Almighty.”
The first-instance court had sentenced Lamjarred to six years in prison in 2023. During the appeal proceedings, the public prosecutor had requested an eight-year sentence, but the court issued a 10-year prison term. David Chimi, the prosecutor’s lawyer, suggested that the harsher penalty may have been influenced, among other factors, by concerns raised by Lamjarred’s public persona, as well as what he characterized as the defense’s aggressive approach toward his client. He noted that the repeated questioning of the complainant’s account, along with sharp criticism of investigators and experts, had a negative impact on the jury. He emphasized that defending the accused could be firm without denying what the complainant endured or treating her with contempt.
The case dates back to 2016, when “Laura B.” filed a complaint against Lamjarred, accusing him of raping her in a Paris hotel after they met at a nightclub. She was 20 at the time, while Lamjarred was 31. The case was remanded to the Court of Appeal, which held closed-door hearings after its review was postponed in June 2025 to allow for further investigations.
In a related legal development, in April, five individuals were sentenced in connection with an attempted extortion of Lamjarred. They had demanded 3 million euros in exchange for withdrawing the complaint and ensuring the complainant would not testify. The court did not convict “Laura B.” in the extortion case, but sentences ranging from six months to two years, suspended, were handed down to her mother, her lawyer, a social media influencer, and two other individuals.
