Accused by a 24-year-old young woman, the Moroccan defender is placed under judicial supervision. He received “support” from the Parisian club.
By QM with AFP
© FRANCK FIFE / AFP
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UParis Saint-Germain star in legal turmoil. Moroccan defender Achraf Hakimi was indicted Thursday, March 2 for rape, said Friday the Nanterre prosecutor’s office contacted by Agence France-Presse. The PSG player, 24, was heard Thursday by investigators from the Hauts-de-Seine Territorial Security, then indicted by an investigating judge and placed under judicial supervision.
A woman, also 24, accuses him of having raped her last Saturday at his home in Boulogne-Billancourt, in the western suburbs of Paris. His judicial control prohibits him from coming into contact with the young woman, said the prosecution. He is, however, authorized to leave French territory.
The preliminary investigation opened on Monday by the Nanterre prosecutor’s office is now entrusted to an investigating judge. Contacted by Agence France-Presse, the player’s lawyer, Me Fanny Colin could not be reached immediately. On Tuesday, she assured the Parisian that the accusations were “false” and that Achraf Hakimi, “serene”, stood “at the disposal of justice”. For her part, the young woman was heard by investigators on Wednesday, sources familiar with the matter said.
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The complainant denounces touching without consent
“We take note of the indictment”, reacted to Agence France-Presse the victim’s lawyer, Me Rachel-Flore Pardo. “My client maintains all of her statements. She has chosen to speak exclusively to justice and does not wish to publicize the case, in particular to preserve her safety, ”she continued.
The young woman first went to a police station in Val-de-Marne on Sunday, where she said she had been raped, without filing a complaint. According to a police source, she then said that she met Achraf Hakimi in January on the Instagram social network and went to his house on Saturday in a VTC ordered by the player. On the spot, she reports that Achraf Hakimi kissed her and touched her without her consent, before raping her, added the police source.
Managing to push him away, she said that a friend, contacted by text, had come to pick her up.
PSG supports the Moroccan international
Paris Saint-Germain “gives its support” to Hakimi and “trusts justice”, announced Friday a spokesperson for the club, who “will not make any comment” on this file.
Coach Christophe Galtier said at a press conference on Friday that he “would not answer any questions about Achraf Hakimi’s extra-sportsmanship”. The Moroccan, hit in the thigh and who had missed PSG’s trip to Marseille on Sunday, will also return to competition “next week”, said PSG, who will travel to Bayern Munich on Wednesday in 8e Champions League final second leg.
“The objective is for him to be available for the game against Bayern,” said Galtier. “We will manage him normally, he will train tomorrow, he will train on Sunday, and I dare to hope that on Monday he will train normally with the group and that he will be available against Bayern”, continued the coach. He is already forfeited for the reception of Nantes, Saturday (9 p.m.) in Ligue 1, but was present, all smiles, at the collective training of PSG on Friday morning, noted a journalist from Agence France- Press.