29 September,2026 04:37 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Saad Lamjarred and Shehnaaz Gill. Pic via Instagram
Moroccan singer Saad Lamjarred, who once collaborated with Shehnaaz Gill, was sentenced to 10 years in prison recently for rape charges. He was sentenced by an appeals court in Créteil, south-east of Paris. Notably, this is a heavier sentence than the six-year term imposed during his first trial.
The 41-year-old singer, who is one of the Arab's most widely followed performers, was convicted of raping Laura B in a Paris hotel room. The incident took place after a meeting at a nightclub in 2016. Laura was 20 at the time of the incident while Lamjarred was 31.
French prosecutors stated that Lamjarred was sentenced to 10 years in prison. He was also ordered into custody after being convicted of rape aggravated by the fact that the singer was under the influence of alcohol. Prosecutors also sought an eight-year sentence. One of his lawyers, Marie Burguburu, told Agence France-Presse that the singer maintained his innocence and intends to challenge the ruling before France's Court of Cassation.
The latest ruling also increases the six-year prison sentence, which was earlier handed down by the Paris Assize Court in 2023 in the same case. The appeal proceedings were held behind closed doors in Créteil after the trial, which was initially scheduled for June 2025, and later postponed to allow further investigations.
David Chimi, Laura B's lawyer, told AFP that the sentence could be explained in part by concerns raised during the proceedings. He stated that the systematic questioning of her account as well as the attacks on investigators and experts seem to have made a poor impression on the jury.
Notably, the verdict comes months after Lamjarred was sentenced to five years in prison in a separate case by an assize court in Draguignan, southern France. He was convicted over the rape of a young woman near Saint-Tropez in 2018. The singer has appealed that conviction.
For the unversed, Saad Lamjarred and Shehnaaz Gill have earlier collaborated on a cross-cultural musical single titled Bezaf, which was released in April 2026. The song unites the two alongside vocals from Indian singer Neha Kakkar.
