#LamjarredOut: Moroccan activists launch 'silencing campaign' for singer accused of rape

A social media campaign has been launched to ban the songs of Moroccan pop star Saad Lamjarred on the country's radio stations, after he was charged in France for a third time on alleged rape charges.

Social media activists have started campaigning to silence Lamjarred under the hashtags #masaktach ("we will not be silenced") and #LamjarredOut.

Arabic-language website Hesspress on Wednesday posted a caricature of the singer in vanishing black ink against a Parisian backdrop next to the slogan "Salina, Salina," (it's over, it's over), the title of one of his love songs.

The station Radio 2M said on Twitter that it had stopped promoting Lamjarred's songs over the rape charge, while Hit Radio said it would poll its listeners to decide on whether to keep his music off the air.

The 33-year-old singer was detained on Tuesday over an alleged incident in a Saint-Tropez hotel.

Lamjarred, who denies the allegations, has already faced rape accusations in October 2016 and April 2017.

The 33-year-old singer rose to fame after his 2015 hit Lmaallem racked up more than 650 million views on YouTube, making it the most-viewed video by an Arab artist on the popular platform.

He fled the US after being granted bail in a case accusing him of assaulting and raping a woman in New York in 2010.

Similar charges were brought to the singer six years later, this time involving a French woman in a hotel in Paris. Again, Lamjarred was bailed but put on an electronic tag pending trial.

The victim spoke out in November 2017 in a video posted on YouTube, in which she detailed the alleged incident after her identity was leaked online.

"My name is Laura Prioul, I'm 21-years-old, and it has been one year since I was physically attacked, hit and raped.

"For the past year I've been hiding from the media, hiding from everyone, that everyone's been talking about me.

"So many people were talking about me, insulting me, and no one supported me apart from my family and friends," Prioul said.

During his 2016 arrest, Morocco's King Mohammad V covered Lamjarred's legal costs and hired a top lawyer - known for securing acquittals - to defend him.