After the victim, the accused. The singer Saad Lamjarred delivered, Wednesday, February 22, to the Paris Assize Court his version of the night of October 25 to 26, 2016 which earned him today to appear for aggravated rape with violence. Laura P. accuses him of raping and beating her in room 714 of the Marriott Hotel.
More comfortable, less tense than the first day, Saad Lamjarred, dressed wisely in black pants, a white shirt and a navy sweater, spoke in three languages, many in Arabic or English , with the help of an interpreter, less in French.
If the two stories agree until 6 a.m. – the meeting in a posh club in the Champs-Elysées district, their rapprochement, the decision to go to the Intercontinental Hotel in the room of a couple met during the evening – they begin to diverge from the moment the two young people leave the Intercontinental to join the Marriott where the singer is staying, by his concert scheduled for October 29 at the Palais des Congrès. She is convinced that the other couple will join them. Assure him that it was clear they would only be the two of them.
On the taxi ride to the Marriott, “We hold hands, I compliment her on her beauty”, he says. He insists : “We hug each other, not friendly hugs. We liked each other, it wasn’t just physical, I liked his personality even though we only talked for two hours. »
In the bedroom, Laura P. sits on her bed, takes off her shoes and jewelry. He sees it as an invitation. Then she tells him “sorry, I couldn’t kiss you in front of everyone”. Saad Lamjarred takes it as a « signe ». He bends down, kisses her, “a long kiss”. Others follow, he says. « I was starting to see more and more signs of a certain willingness for her to end the evening with me. (…). We continued kissing for quite a while and I started to feel more and more aroused. I sensed excitement in her too. » He says she helps him take off his t-shirt and then his pants. He explains that he kissed her all over her body, including in the crotch. “At one point, I understood that she was ready for the last stage. »
“I didn’t want to make you cry”
He undresses himself. But when he lays down on her, she scratches him violently in the back. “I did something that I regret, I pushed him in the face brutally. It was an involuntary reflex, I’m not proud of it (…). A real man doesn’t do that. » According to him, the fight lasted about fifteen seconds. He adds solemnly: « Mme President, I say it today and I will say it until my last breath, I, Saad Lamjarred, have never penetrated Laura P., in any way”.
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