The legal labyrinth surrounding Saad Lamjarred deepens. Today, in the south of France, a new tribunal convenes to judge the Moroccan singer, who stands accused of the rape of a waitress in 2018. This case is merely the latest link in a heavy chain of allegations that have dogged the pop star for years.
Despite his repeated denials, the trial commences this afternoon at the Draguignan Criminal Court, with a verdict anticipated by Thursday. Lamjarred, now 40 years old, will attend the hearings as a free man.
Dominique Lardin, the attorney representing the plaintiff, has indicated that his client will request the proceedings be held behind closed doors. He described her ordeal as a “night of horror,” emphasizing that she has waited seven years for the judicial system to finally recognize her status as a victim.
The narrative rewinds to August 2018 in the glamourous enclave of Saint-Tropez. The accuser, working as a waitress at the time, encountered Lamjarred at a nightclub. According to her testimony, she was initially unaware of his celebrity status but learned of his fame as the evening progressed. She agreed to accompany him to his hotel for a drink. The accounts diverge sharply at the threshold of his room: she alleges that Lamjarred led her directly to the bedroom, forced her to lie down, and committed sexual assault. Conversely, the singer maintains that the encounter was entirely consensual.
This is far from an isolated incident in the artist’s turbulent history. His name has been tethered to similar files for over a decade. In the United States, a 2010 rape case was eventually dropped following a financial settlement with the accuser. Additionally, he faced charges in 2017 based on the testimony of a French-Moroccan woman who alleged she was assaulted and beaten in Casablanca in 2015.
Most significantly, the Paris Assize Court sentenced him to six years in prison in 2023 after finding him guilty of raping a young woman he met at a club in 2016. Lamjarred has appealed this conviction and continues to assert his innocence, admitting only to pushing the victim violently after she allegedly scratched him during a moment of intimacy.
