Saad Lamjarred reacts after French court verdict shocks Arab fans worldwide.
Moroccan artist Saad Lamjarred commented on the verdict issued against him in his initial reaction to the French court's ruling in his rape case, reassuring his fans and admirers in the Arab world and confirming his continued artistic activity.
Saad Lamjarred posted a series of photos and videos on his official Instagram account, commenting, "Thank God... everything is fine... I'm on my way home and back to work, and I'm focusing all my efforts on preparing for upcoming concerts." See you very soon."
Lamjarred's optimistic comment came just hours after the Draguignan court in France sentenced him on Friday to five years in prison and ordered him to pay €30,000 in compensation to the victim, in addition to €5,000 in legal fees, following his conviction for the rape of a young French woman.
Despite the harshness of the sentence, the court did not issue an immediate arrest warrant for the 41-year-old Moroccan star, allowing him to leave the courthouse as a free man. Dramatic moments marked the closed-door session, with Saad Lamjarred breaking down in tears upon hearing the verdict and embracing his wife and her mother. His lawyer, Christian Saint-Palais, declined to comment on the decision, which came after a week of arguments during which the prosecution sought a severe sentence of up to 10 years in prison.
In 2021, the Court of Appeal settled the legal controversy surrounding this case. The investigative chamber of the Aix-en-Provence Court of Appeal had upheld the referral of Saad Lamjarred to the criminal court that same year.
The court based its decision on a legal principle stating that a woman's entry into a man's room does not, in itself, constitute automatic consent to a sexual relationship.
The roots of this particular case trace back to the summer of 2018 in Saint-Tropez, in southeastern France, where Saad Lamjarred met the plaintiff, who was working as a waitress in a nightclub.
According to her testimony, she accompanied him to his hotel room for a drink, where she was assaulted. Lamjarred, however, maintained that the encounter was consensual.
The Moroccan artist spent three months in pretrial detention that same year before being released pending trial.
In June 2025, the appeal hearing for a previous 2023 sentence of six years imprisonment for an assault dating back to 2016 was postponed due to parallel legal proceedings against the plaintiff and her relatives.
