Saad Lamjarred sentenced to six years in prison

Friday, the Paris Assize Court sentenced the famous Moroccan singer Saad Lamjarred to six years in prison, convicting him of raping and beating a woman in a hotel room in Paris back in 2016.

The court was "convinced" of the rape, saying that the victim Laura P "described (the incident) in a constant and precise manner."

Upon announcement of the decision, Lamjarred 's lawyer Thierry Herzog said they will "reflect" before making their next decision. 

- Background information -

Aged 20, Laura P, had followed the pop-star and a couple of her friends to an "after party," back in Oct. 2016.

At the end of the evening, she had accompanied Lamjarred to his hotel on the Champs Élysées, while under the influence of alcohol and drugs, where he allegedly beat and raped her.

She had fled the room and been picked up by hotel workers, who described a "terrorized" and crying young woman.

These same employees had stopped the presumably "drunk man who was chasing her."

Lamjarred claimed to have only defended himself when Laura P. had suddenly attacked him while they were in his room, and disputed rape claims.

He had only sued her to avoid a "scandal" because he was known, it was said.

The singer, adored in Morocco and famous throughout the Arab world, was in Paris for a concert scheduled at the Palais des Congrès.

Incarcerated in the process, he was released under an electronic bracelet in 2017 – before being briefly detained again in 2018 because he was indicted for the rape of another young woman in Saint-Tropez (Var).

Lamjarred was also implicated in rapes in similar circumstances in Casablanca and New York.