3 days ago
Saad Lamjarred's rape appeal trial on hold following alleged €3 million blackmail plot
The appeal trial of Moroccan singer Saad Lamjarred, accused of rape and aggravated assault, originally scheduled for yesterday in Créteil, near Paris, has been postponed to an unspecified date.
The delay follows new evidence presented by the singer's defense team, who allege an attempted blackmail. According to a statement reported by the media outlet Al3omk, associates of the plaintiff, Laura Prioul, allegedly approached Lamjarred at the end of 2024 with a proposal for a €3 million financial settlement in exchange for withdrawing the complaint. Lamjarred's lawyers are now considering filing a complaint with the French judiciary to denounce what they describe as an «organized blackmail operation within a criminal network».
During his initial trial in 2023, Lamjarred was sentenced to six years in prison. He appeared in court free under judicial supervision and was found guilty of assaulting a young woman in a hotel room in 2016—charges he continues to deny.
Additionally, Lamjarred faces another legal proceeding concerning similar accusations related to incidents dating back to 2018 in Saint-Tropez. The date for this trial has yet to be set.
