SANTA MONICA, Calif. – He may have been wacked out on coke and drunk as a skunk. Or maybe he wasn’t. But whatever the case might be, Moroccan singer, Saad Lamjarred, is in a Parisian court this week and on trial for raping a 20-year old woman in 2016 at a swanky hotel on the Champs-Elysees.
The woman, alleges that when the rape occurred, Lamjarred struck her several times as she tried to push him off of her. After the possible rape, hotel staff reported seeing the woman flee the room crying and in distress.
Feminist activists in North Africa and the Middle East have in recent years led a campaign against the singer as part of the #MeToo movement, leading some of his shows to be cancelled, especially in Egypt.
Lebanese activist group Akhbar Al-Saha (News From the Square) said in a statement “we hope this court case is an opportunity for those who defend him to think twice and stand with the victims and survivors and not the perpetrator.”
Lamjarred is one of the Arab world’s most popular artists. His music video “Lm3allem” has more than 1 billion views on his YouTube channel, where he has more than 14 million subscribers.
King Mohammed VI awarded him Morocco’s highest national honor in 2015.
Lamjarred has also been charged with the aggravated rape of another woman in August 2018 at a nightclub in Saint-Tropez on the French Riviera. A trial date hasn’t been set for that case.
Some informational content courtesy of The Associated Press.