MENA celebrities face backlash for defending convicted rapist Saad Lamjarred

Defenders of Moroccan singer and rape convicted Saad Lamjarred are facing backlash from women's rights activists and the public for defending "rape culture."

"Those openly supporting a rapist saying we must think of his family, his mom, his wife… What about the survivors? (...)  A lot of us are drained. For survivors, including myself, traumas are back. Take care of yourself," wrote Moroccan feminist Yasmina Benslimane, who is also a founder of the feminist organisation PolitcisfForHer.

On Friday, 24 February, Moroccan singer Saad Lamjarred was sentenced to six years in prison for aggravated rape by the Paris criminal court. 

He was found guilty of raping and assaulting Laura P., then 20, in a room at a Parisian luxury hotel on 26 October 2016. An aggravating circumstance was that he was under the influence of alcohol and narcotics. 

Lamjarred will be entered into the French registry of sexual offenders and banned from French soil for five years.

As soon as the verdict was announced, several renowned celebrities from the MENA region rushed in defence of Lamjarred's "innocence," while others called for standing with him even if he is "unjust."

Lebanese artist Ziad Bourji confirmed his support for what he described as his "friend" will continue despite Lamjarred's conviction, saying "a brother will not abandon his brother even if he makes a mistake."

pic.twitter.com/UGmxvNtvn7

— Ziad Bourji / زياد برجي (@ziadbourji) February 25, 2023

For his part, Syrian TV host Mustapha Agha articulated the same position in an Instagram post in which he condemned what he described as an "unprecedented attack" against Lamjarred "even if he made a mistake, knowledge is with God alone and with those concerned."

Meanwhile, several Moroccan celebrities continue to argue for Lamjarred's innocence, with some going further and linking his conviction to "French propaganda" against the idolised singer.

"We are with you brother Saad...God takes revenge on the women of France," wrote Moroccan singer Dounia Batma, as several Moroccan celebrities and fans reposted her Instagram story under the hashtag, "We are all Saad Lamjarred."

On the other hand, Moroccan women's rights activists denounced the various celebrities who openly stood with Lamjarred and belittled his crime as a "mistake".

Those openly supporting a rapist saying we must think of his family, his mom, his wife… What about the survivors?

If you pretend to be a feminist
& all about women empowerment by profiting from women’s day, I’d like to say on behalf of Moroccan feminists: we don’t claim you.

— Yasmina Benslimane (@yasbenslimane) February 25, 2023

Over the past years, women rights activists in the region fought hard to cancel his concerts in Egypt, Lebanon and Iraq. 

Meanwhile, several social media users launched an online campaign to unfollow all Lamjarred apologists and expressed shock at the wide support of "rape culture" among celebrities.

Similarly, Moroccan activist and writer Sannae El-Aji called on the Moroccan king to withdraw the royal medal he gave to Lmjarred in 2015. "It will mean a lot for the rights of survivors," El-Aji wrote.

According to the Royal Decree, No. 218.00.1 of 5 June 2000, "disciplinary penalties shall be applied to every bearer of one of the Moroccan national decorations who commits an offence against honour, or is sentenced to a criminal or misdemeanour penalty."

The palace has yet to comment on Lmjarred's trial.

#SaadLamjarred was sentenced to six years in prison last Friday for the rape of Laura Prioul, whose persistence led to the case being closed almost seven years after the crime.
1/3 pic.twitter.com/e1AjQ2yD06

— Megaphone (@megaphone_news) February 27, 2023

This is not the first time Saad Lamjarred was accused of rape, he was previously accused in New York, Casablanca and Saint-Tropez. 

During the trial, the judge also noted that child pornography was found on his phone during his arrest in 2018 in Saint-Tropez for rape accusations. Investigations into the Saint-Tropez case are still ongoing.

Lamjarred has 10 days to appeal the Paris court's verdict condemning him to serve six years in prison.