Moroccan king to pay singer Lamjarred's expenses in Paris rape case
Morocco's King Mohammed VI is to pay the legal expenses of singer Saad Lamjarred, who was arrested and charged with rape on Friday in Paris.
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The king has told Lamjarred's family that he will pay for French lawyer Eric Dupont Moretti to defend the singer, who was charged with aggravated rape and aggravated voluntary violence on Friday, the official press agency MAP reported Tuesday.
The Moroccan embassy in Paris confirmed the report, adding that it was in response to a request for help from the family and "in respect of the presumption of innocence".
The 31-year-old star, whose online videos receive hundreds of millions of hits, was charged after a 20-year-old woman complained to police on Wednesday.
Investigators believe that he may have been drinking and using drugs at the time.
Concert cancelled
A concert he should have given on Saturday was cancelled because he was detained.
Although the singer was accused of rape in the US in 2010 - a charge he denies - the news of his arrest in Paris was greeted with widespread concern in Morocco.
Dupont Moretti has achieved a number of acquittals in France.He represented Mohammed VI in his case against journalists Eric Laurent and Catherine Graciet, who were convicted of blackmailing the king.
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