French appeal court increases singer Saad Lamjarred's rape sentence to 10 years

Heavier prison sentence delivered on appeal

The Court of Appeal in Créteil, located southeast of Paris, sentenced Moroccan singer Saad Lamjarred to ten years of criminal imprisonment on Saturday, 26 September 2026. The judicial panel issued an immediate detention order against the 41-year-old artist, requiring him to serve the prison term. The decision increased the penalty from his initial trial in 2023, when the Paris Assize Court sentenced him to six years in prison. The general prosecution had requested a prison term of eight years during the appeal hearings. Judges retained an aggravating factor against Lamjarred, citing his state of intoxication during the commission of the offence. Defence attorney Marie Burguburu stated that Lamjarred continues to maintain his innocence and confirmed that his legal team will file a cassation appeal to challenge the verdict.

Closed-door proceedings and civil party reaction

The appeal trial commenced on 17 September 2026 and was conducted entirely behind closed doors. The proceedings were originally scheduled for an earlier date but were postponed in June 2025 to enable authorities to conduct additional investigations. The criminal charges relate to events in 2016, when Lamjarred met Laura P. at a nightclub in Paris. Laura P. was 20 years old at the time of the incident, while Lamjarred was 31. Investigators determined that the singer took her to his hotel room, where he struck and raped her. David Chemmi, one of the two lawyers representing the complainant, addressed the court outcome after the ruling.

This sentence seems to me to be explained in particular by the worrying profile of the accused, but also by the particularly aggressive strategy adopted toward the complainant. The systematic questioning of her word, as well as the attacks directed against investigators and experts, were clearly poorly received by the jurors. One can defend an accused person with determination, but one cannot do so by denying or despising the victim.

Previous judicial rulings and parallel extortion trial

Lamjarred, who maintains wide popularity across the Arab world with over 15 million Instagram followers and nearly 16 million YouTube subscribers, has faced legal scrutiny in several jurisdictions. In May 2026, the Var Assize Court in Draguignan sentenced him to five years in prison for the 2018 rape of a young woman near Saint-Tropez, a verdict that he has appealed. That case was linked to a separate extortion scheme resolved in April 2026, when five individuals were convicted for demanding 3 million euros from Lamjarred to withdraw the complaint and avoid testifying. Laura P. was acquitted in that extortion case, but her mother, a lawyer, an influencer, and two others received suspended prison sentences ranging between six months and two years. Earlier in his career, Lamjarred was implicated in similar sexual assault allegations in Morocco in 2015, and in 2010 a rape and sexual assault case in the United States was closed following a financial agreement with the complainant.