Did you know that Saad Lamjarred, the Moroccan pop singer behind the massively popular song Guli Mata, has been sentenced to five years in prison by a French court?
Lamjarred, 41, is one of the Arab world’s biggest music stars. His songs like Lm3allem and Guli Mata earned him hundreds of millions of views on YouTube and made him a household name across the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia. But behind the glamour of his music career lies a long and troubled legal history that many fans may not be aware of.
The latest verdict came from the Draguignan Assize Court in southern France, which found him guilty of rape in a case dating back to August 2018. According to the complainant, she met the singer at a nightclub in Saint-Tropez before accompanying him to his hotel room, where the alleged assault took place. The trial was held behind closed doors to protect the victim’s privacy.
The court sentenced him to five years in prison and ordered him to pay €30,000 in compensation and €5,000 in legal fees to the victim. Prosecutors had originally demanded a harsher 10-year sentence.
What makes this even more serious is that this is not his first conviction. Back in 2023, a Paris court had already sentenced him to six years in prison for a separate rape case from 2016.
Lamjarred has denied all accusations and has appealed the latest verdict, meaning the case remains legally ongoing.
