Saad Lamjarad: 10-year prison sentence in a rape case in Paris

On Saturday, the Court of Appeal in the city of Creteil, southeast of Paris, sentenced Moroccan artist Saad to 10 years in prison, after he was convicted of rape under aggravating circumstances. The new sentence is much more severe than the sentence issued at first instance in 2023, when the Paris Criminal Court sentenced him to only 6 years in prison in the same case. The facts of the case date back to 2016, when a young French woman was raped, before she filed a complaint that led to the opening of a lengthy judicial investigation that ended with the trial of the 41-year-old artist. Among the circumstances which the court considered aggravating the penalty that the incident took place and Saad was merely under the influence of alcohol. A full appeal trial before a new jury in the French judicial system. The Court of Appeal in criminal cases not only reviews the first verdict, but also retrials the accused before a different jury, which explains the possibility that the second verdict comes out stronger than the first, as happened here when the penalty increased from 6 to 10 years. Immediate transfer to prison According to Moroccan news sites, they were taken Immediately after the verdict was handed down, the artist went to the Fresnes prison center, one of the largest prisons in France, to begin the execution of the new sentence directly without waiting for any appeal to be decided. Saad's defense asserted that their client still maintains his innocence, and that he will resort to challenging the ruling before the French Court of Cassation, which is the highest level of litigation in the French judicial system and does not review the facts of the case but rather the integrity of the legal procedures followed. Why this judgment matters Followers in Morocco Saad is just so popular in Morocco The Arab world, thanks to its years-long singing career, has achieved a great spread through songs that have gained wide popularity in the region, which makes this judicial development an event that Moroccan public opinion follows closely, despite the occurrence of the facts and the trial outside Morocco. The case, which began almost ten years ago, is now entering its final stage before the French judiciary, pending what the Court of Cassation will decide on the pending appeal, at a time when the fate of the artist remains linked to a long and complex judicial path.