Saad Lamjarred Appeals 6-Year Prison Sentence

Moroccan singer-songwriter Saad Lamjarred has appealed the six-year prison sentence that he was handed last week by the Criminal Court in Paris.

Lamjarred was sentenced on February 24 to six years in prison for aggravated rape by the Paris criminal court after being found guilty of rape by seven votes out of nine. 

The prosecutor had previously demanded a seven-year prison sentence as well as a ban that would prohibit him from France.

"Lamjarred continues to maintain his innocence and that is why he is appealing the verdict," the singer's defense told AFP.

Lajarred was immediately transferred to prison after the judge pronounced the verdict. His defense says that the immediate detention was not justified because he had always adhered to the parol he was under.

The verdict comes six years after French woman Laura Prioul filed a complaint against him in October 2016 accusing him of aggravated rape and assaulting her at a luxury hotel in Paris while under the influence of alcohol and cocaine.  

The plaintiff, who was 20 years old at the time, said that she met Lamjarred at a Paris nightclub and accompanied him to his hotel.

Prioul testified that the singer struck her several times as she was trying to push him back before he raped her.

She said that he struck her several times as she was trying to push him back before he raped her.

The woman managed to leave the room and hotel staff reported seeing her crying and in distress.

During the trial, Lamjarred rejected the allegations and acknowledged he had “occasionally” used alcohol and drugs at the time, but has since stopped.

He has maintained his innocence, however, saying that he does not believe the plaintiff is lying, but that she may have been “wrong.”

The singer claimed that he “never penetrated” Prioul but that they “kissed repeatedly”, and that she allowed him to undress.

“I had a bad reflex that I regret today; I brutally pushed her face away. I am ashamed. No man should hit a woman,” he added, saying that the action was a reaction to her scratching his back.

The singer also apologized to the defendant directly in court.

This is not the first time Lamjarred was accused of rape. In 2010, an American woman first leveled charges of rape against the singer. He also faced charges of rape in France in 2016 and 2018.