celebrities support Saad Lamjarred after his rape conviction

The Saad Lamjarred case is causing quite a stir on Moroccan social media sites, with the singer’s celebrities and fans who defend him and detractors engaging in heated discussions in the wake of his conviction on rape-related charges.

On Thursday, Saad Lmajarred was found guilty of aggravated rape and given a six-year prison sentence. Almost immediately, two diametrically opposed camps of Moroccan commenters—particularly those who were fellow celebrities and singers—took to social media to either condemn Lamajarred or—mostly—to express solidarity and support.

Some of his supporters question the Paris court’s decision finding him guilty of sexual assault, claiming the rape accusations are unfounded.

Dunia Batma, a Moroccan singer who was found guilty of blackmail in 2021 and was given a one-year prison sentence, posted on Instagram today expressing her prayers for Lamjarred and her outrage at Laura Prioul, the French woman whose complaint led to Lamjarred’s trial.

“Not sure exactly what to say… My brother Saad, his parents, and his supporters are in my prayers. We support you and eagerly await your return,” Batma wrote before expressing her outrage over Lamjarred’s French victim.

Saad Lamjarred has previously been charged with rape. The singer was accused of rape for the first time by an American woman in 2010, and in 2016 and 2018 he was accused of rape in France.

Lamjarred has ten days to file an appeal against the Paris court’s decision to sentence him to a six-year prison term. The 2018 case is still under investigation, while the 2016 sexual assault case has a verdict.

Hatim Ammor, another Moroccan musician, also posted on Instagram to show support for the 33-year-old singer who is currently incarcerated.

Ammor wrote on his Instagram page alongside a photo of him and Lamjarred, “The eye tears and the heart mourns, and we are very sad over the ordeal. I ask God to give you perseverance and fortitude.

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While the majority of celebrities who commented on the post appeared to believe Lamjarred is innocent, some took a slightly different stance and suggested that he might have made a mistake. Mariam Hussein, a Moroccan actress, appeared to take issue with the victim in an Instagram post and responded, “God is all forgiving.”

After accompanying a male celebrity to his hotel room “after a night of partying,” Laura Prioul, the French woman who accused Lamjarred of raping her there, should have anticipated “nothing less.”

The Moroccan actress appeared to contend throughout the remainder of her post that the case against Lamjarred might be a straightforward political plot intended to end his career.

A six-year prison sentence is not enough 

The verdict was praised as just by many Moroccans, who expressed regret that Lamjarred would only serve six years instead of the “much deserved” 20.

Someone from Morocco who uses Twitter posted a video claiming that those who continue to support Saad Lamjarred are actually “mentally enslaved.”

Others who use social media to communicate expressed support for the prison term, tweeting: “Saad Lamjarred finally going to rot in jail? in addition to six years? For times like THIS, we prayed.

Some particularly incensed social media users went so far as to accuse some of Lamjarred’s supporters of complicity in what they described as rape culture in order to express their outrage at the disgraced singer.

This group of critics claimed that Moroccan celebrities supporting Lamjarred was an attempt to normalize rape. One tweeted: “Moroccan artists supporting Saad Lamjarred because they are also rapists.”

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