Khaberni - Moroccan singer Saad Lamjarred was sentenced in the Court of Appeals in Créteil (southeast Paris) on Saturday to ten years in prison for rape, a punishment harsher than what the trial court had sentenced him to.
The artist, who enjoys wide popularity in Morocco and the Arab world, had previously been sentenced in 2023 to six years in prison by the Criminal Court in Paris.
The public prosecutor told the AFP news agency that the 41-year-old singer was sentenced to ten years in prison with an order for imprisonment for rape under aggravating circumstances as he was under the influence of alcohol. The prosecution had requested an eight-year sentence.
Marie Bourguiboro, one of Lamjarred's lawyers who maintains his innocence, told AFP that he would appeal the verdict at the Court of Cassation.
Lamjarred was convicted of raping Laura B. in 2016 in a hotel room, after meeting her in a nightclub in Paris. She was 20 years old at the time, while he was in his early thirties.
In another case, Saad Lamjarred was sentenced in May to five years in prison by the Criminal Court in Draguignan, Var, for the rape of a young woman in 2018 near Saint-Tropez. He has appealed the sentence.
In Créteil, the trial took place at the appeals court in closed sessions, after being postponed in June 2025 for further investigation.
David Schimi, one of the plaintiff's lawyers, told AFP, "The sentence against him can particularly be explained by the concern that the defendant's personality provokes, and also by the highly aggressive strategy adopted" towards the plaintiff.
He added, "The systematic doubt cast on her statements, as well as attacks on the investigators and experts, left a bad impression on the jurors. A defendant can be defended vigorously, but that should not involve denying or scorning what the victim has suffered."
In the case, five other individuals were also convicted in April of attempting to extort the singer, demanding three million euros in exchange for withdrawing the complaint and the plaintiff not testifying at the criminal court.
Laura B. was acquitted of the charge, while her mother, a lawyer, and a social media influencer, along with two others, were convicted with sentences ranging from six months to two years suspended.
Lamjarred has also been charged in similar cases in 2015 in Morocco and in 2010 in the United States, where a rape and sexual assault case was dismissed after a financial settlement with the victim.
Lamjarred has over 15 million followers on Instagram and about 16 million on his YouTube channel.
