Moroccan player Achraf Hakimi, 27, will appear in court on charges of rape, in a “judicial victory” for the complainant and an opportunity for the captain of the Moroccan national team to present his version of the events, the French court confirmed this Friday (19).
In February 2023, a young woman accused the PSG player of rape. The athlete always classified the accusation as false.
In February of this year, the court ordered that he be sent to trial, a decision contested by Hakimi. However, the Versailles Court of Appeal confirmed this Friday (19) the measure, considering that the investigation concluded that “there is sufficient evidence”.
The announcement comes as the Atlas Lions star prepares to play in the Moroccan team’s second World Cup match against Scotland.
The match is valid for Group C of the World Cup, the same as Brazil, which drew 1-1 with the Africans in its debut.
Despite the seriousness of the accusations, Hakimi, born in Madrid, does not seem worried and remains focused on his career, in his third appearance in a World Cup with the Morocco national team.
Although the date of the trial, scheduled to take place before a criminal court in the Paris region, has not yet been announced, he said shortly after the announcement that he was awaiting it “impatiently.” “I can finally speak,” he wrote on social media.
“I chose to remain silent for years. I thought that maintaining my dignity, being patient and trusting in justice would allow the right decisions to be made,” he added. His defender, Fanny Colin, stressed that being sent to trial does not mean he “is guilty”.
The complainant’s lawyer, Rachel-Flore Pardo, celebrated, in turn, a “judicial victory”, which brings “relief and hope” to her client, “after more than three years of legal battle, after having been slandered and dragged through the mud by the defense”.
The young woman reported having met Hakimi in January 2023 on Instagram and going to the player’s house in an app-based transport vehicle requested by him, according to a police source at the time of the events.
According to her account, Hakimi had kissed and touched her without consent before raping her. She then allegedly managed to push him away and sent a message to a friend, who went to pick her up.
The player was indicted and placed under judicial control a few days later, in March 2023.
His lawyer, who did not confirm whether he will appeal the decision to the Court of Cassation, denounced “class justice in reverse”. According to her, the investigation was only opened because a police report was leaked to the press, as Hakimi “is a public figure”.
For the complainant, however, the leak of her statement to the newspaper Le Parisien constituted “the greatest trauma of her life”.
In her first press interview, given on Thursday (18) to the investigative website Mediapart, Jeanne (pseudonym) stated that she wants “a trial to defend herself, to be heard”. “I want you to believe me,” he added.
“It is not pleasant for my client to see someone she accuses of rape being applauded and applauded,” said her lawyer, for whom “there is still a long way to go in the fight against sexual violence in men’s football.”
