06/19/26 04:02:00
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06/19 04:00 CDT Morocco star Achraf Hakimi will stand trial in a rape case,
French appeals court confirms
Morocco star Achraf Hakimi will stand trial in a rape case, French appeals
court confirms
By SAMUEL PETREQUIN
AP Sports Writer
A French appeals court confirmed Friday that Paris Saint-Germain and Morocco
star player Achraf Hakimi will stand trial in a rape case, lawyers told The
Associated Press.
The defender, who is currently playing with Morocco at the World Cup after
winning the Champions League for a second straight year with PSG, had appealed
a February decision by an investigative judge. That ruling followed
recommendations from public prosecutors that Hakimi should face trial.
The Versailles appeals court's decision was released just hours before Morocco
takes on Scotland in their Group C match. Morocco drew 1-1 with Brazil in its
opening game.
Hakimi, one of the best right backs in the world, denies any wrongdoing. He
faced preliminary charges of rape in March 2023 after a 24-year-old woman said
she was raped by Hakimi at his home in a Paris suburb.
Rachel-Flore Pardo, the lawyer representing the plaintiff, said that after more
than three years of legal proceedings, "and after being defamed and dragged
through the mud by Achraf Hakimi's defense," the court's decision "brings my
client a sense of relief and hope."
"Relief that she has been heard by the justice system and will have her case
heard at trial," Pardo said in a statement to the AP. "Hope that this trial
will help other women and further weaken the fortress of denial and impunity
surrounding sexual violence, including within the world of men's football."
Hakimi claimed in a message posted on X on Friday that his case would have been
dismissed if he had not been famous, and that he sometimes feels he has become
"an easy target."
"Justice looked me in the eye and told me: ?If you were not famous, there would
never have been a case,'" Hakimi wrote. "I chose to remain silent for years. I
believed that staying dignified, being patient, and trusting the justice system
would allow the right decisions to be made."
He added that the case has been detrimental not only to him, but also to his
family, "and above all, to the truth."
"I have been waiting for this trial since the first day. And I am now waiting
for it impatiently," he added. "Finally, I will be able to speak."
A date for the trial has yet to be announced.
"The multitude of exculpatory elements uncovered during the investigation and
judicial inquiry would, in any other case, have led to the dismissal of the
proceedings," Hakimi's lawyer, Fanny Colin, told the AP.
"Achraf Hakimi's defense regrets that no consequences were drawn from the
contradictions and false statements made by the complainant, her concealment of
information from the judicial authorities, her obstruction of the search for
the truth, and the psychological assessments noting both her ambivalence and
her lack of clarity regarding the events she reported."
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