Star Moroccan singer Saad Lamjarred was convicted of raping a young woman in France and sentenced to six years in prison.
According to French media, Lamjarred, 37, did not respond to the verdict announced by a court in Paris on Friday. Immediately, he was detained.
During a brief trial in 2016, he denied raping the woman at a hotel in Paris.
Saad Lamjarred is well-known in the Arab music community. His YouTube hit LM3ALLEM has been viewed over one billion times.
The monarch of Morocco, who has granted Lamjarred the country’s highest national honor, covered the singer’s legal bills when he was detained in 2016.
At the time, many of the singer’s admirers said he was the victim of a “plot” by Algeria, which has poor relations with Morocco.
And the almost 140 million views of the first song he released after his detention, which he dedicated to the monarch, demonstrated how popular he remained.
It was initially unclear whether he intended to appeal the verdict.
Also Read: Is Michael Voltaggio Dating? Has Kids From Previous Marriage?
