Disclaimer: This text comprises written textual content and video testimony masking the subjects of sexual abuse that might be triggering to some readers.
Moroccan singer Saad Lamjarred is ready to carry out with Haifa Wehbe in Lebanon on the Hilton Lodge on New 12 months’s Eve regardless of his a number of sexual assault fees.
Lamjarred has confronted varied sexual assault allegations and fees throughout the previous decade, beginning in 2010 when he was arrested in New York on suspicion of beating and raping a girl.
Whereas out on bail, he fled america and hasn’t been again since. Since then, the prosecutor dropped these fees after the accuser withdrew her criticism, reportedly after reaching a settlement in a civil lawsuit based on the New York Instances.
Six years later, Lamjarred was charged with rape and battery (hyperlink in French) of 20-year-old French lady, Laura Prioul, in a lodge in Paris.
The singer was anticipated to face 20 years in jail if convicted of the crime, however he was launched on bail simply 2 days after being held.
After a 12 months of sustaining public silence, she launched a video on Youtube that garnered nearly 1.5 million views the place she mentioned what had occurred to her in addition to the backlash for coming ahead:
Prioul informed France radio RTL that the singer “ruined” her life, claiming that Lamjarred raped and beat her in October 2016 after she “refused him.”
“I needed to defend myself, and this particular person hit me once more, and repeatedly.… I couldn’t do something. He was stronger than me. That particular person raped me,” she stated.
The accusation was withdrawn, reporting speculations that there was an out-of-court settlement, one thing that received’t be publicly revealed as it’s unlawful beneath French regulation.
He was additionally accused of raping a French-Morrocan lady in Casablanca, Morocco. She stated she didn’t file a criticism sooner out of “disgrace.” She later withdrew her complaints after “heavy stress” from family members – a typical theme throughout the MENA the place rape tradition brings “disgrace” and blame to the sufferer.
The case remains to be ongoing as French prosecutors can proceed with fees even after an accuser withdraws.
In June, his live performance in Iraq was stormed and compelled to be canceled by protestors.
Earlier this 12 months, Lebanese singer Elissa launched a music with Lamjarred entitled Min Away Dekika, sparking a backlash towards her on social media together with the hashtag “Elissa helps rapists.”
We’ve reached out for remark from Hilton Habtoor (the place the occasion will happen), Saad Lamjarred, and Jays Wardrobe (which seems as a sponsor on the promotional materials of the occasion). None had been instantly obtainable.
