Achraf Hakimi rape trial order upheld by Court of Cassation | OneFootball

France’s Court of Cassation has upheld the order sending Achraf Hakimi to trial on a rape charge. The Paris Saint-Germain and Morocco defender denies the allegation.

In mid-June, during the World Cup, the Versailles Court of Appeal upheld a February decision to refer him to a criminal court over the alleged 2023 rape, which he has contested from the outset. According to Le Progres, he then lodged a cassation appeal soon after.

The cassation petition was his final avenue of appeal within the French judicial system. In February, a Nanterre judge had ordered his trial before the Hauts-de-Seine criminal court, and he appealed that order before turning to the Court of Cassation. The player’s lawyer, Fanny Colin, did not immediately respond on Wednesday.

The complainant’s lawyer, Rachel-Flore Pardo, said her client remains determined to obtain justice after three and a half years of proceedings and, despite being vilified by the defence, will fight to the end. Civil party counsel Bertrand Périer said the ruling reflects the solidity and rigour of the appeal court’s reasoning.

The appeal court’s June ruling recorded the woman’s account. She said she met Hakimi on Instagram in January 2023, then went to his home on 24 February in a chauffeur-driven car he ordered. The next day she told police he kissed and touched her without consent before digitally raping her, that she pushed him away, and that a friend she was texting collected her. Hakimi was indicted on two March.

Source: Le Progres

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