Moroccan singer Saad Lamjarred sentenced to 10 years for rape

Dubai: Moroccan singer Saad Lamjarred was sentenced on Saturday to 10 years in prison for rape by an appeals court in Créteil, south-east of Paris, a heavier sentence than the six-year term imposed at his first trial.

The 41-year-old singer, one of the Arab world’s most widely followed performers, was convicted of raping Laura B. in a Paris hotel room in 2016 after meeting her at a nightclub. She was 20 at the time and Lamjarred was 31.

French prosecutors said Lamjarred was sentenced to 10 years in prison and ordered into custody after being convicted of rape aggravated by the fact that he was under the influence of alcohol. Prosecutors had sought an eight-year sentence.

Lamjarred, who has maintained his innocence, intends to challenge the ruling before France’s Court of Cassation, one of his lawyers, Marie Burguburu, told Agence France-Presse.

The latest ruling increases the six-year prison sentence handed down by the Paris Assize Court in 2023 in the same case. The appeal proceedings in Créteil were held behind closed doors after the trial, initially scheduled for June 2025, was postponed to allow further investigations.

David Chimi, a lawyer representing Laura B., told AFP that the severity of the sentence could be explained in part by concerns raised during the proceedings and by an “extremely aggressive” defence strategy towards the complainant.

He said the systematic questioning of her account, along with attacks on investigators and experts, appeared to have made a poor impression on the jury. A defendant could be defended vigorously, he added, without denying or disparaging what the complainant had experienced.

The verdict comes months after Lamjarred was sentenced in a separate case to five years in prison by an assize court in Draguignan, southern France, over the rape of a young woman near Saint-Tropez in 2018. He has appealed that conviction. French reporting from May confirms that sentence and subsequent appeal.

Five people were also convicted in April of attempting to extort Lamjarred by demanding €3 million in return for the withdrawal of the 2016 complaint and for Laura B. not to testify at trial. Laura B. was acquitted in that case, while her mother, a lawyer, a social media influencer and two others received sentences ranging from six months to two years, suspended.

Lamjarred has previously faced allegations in other cases, including proceedings in Morocco in 2015 and the United States in 2010. The US case involving allegations of rape and sexual assault was later closed following a financial settlement.

Despite the legal cases, Lamjarred has retained a large audience across the Arab world, with more than 15 million followers on Instagram and about 16 million subscribers on YouTube.