David Montangé with AFP
modified to
1:22 p.m., March 03, 2023
The Moroccan defender of Paris Saint-Germain Achraf Hakimi was indicted Thursday for rape, said Friday the parquet floor of Nanterre contacted by AFP. 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. On Friday, the player was present at PSG training, noted an AFP journalist. Contacted, the club declined to comment immediately. A woman, also 24, accuses him of having raped her last Saturday at his home in Boulogne-Billancourt, in the western suburbs of Paris.
“False” accusations according to the player’s lawyer
His judicial control prohibits him from coming into contact with the young woman, said the prosecution. He is, however, authorized to leave French territory. He will therefore be able to travel to Germany next week, on the occasion of the knockout round of the Champions League between Bayern Munich and PSG. On the other hand, he will not be in the group this Saturday to face Nantes in the league.
The preliminary investigation opened on Monday by the Nanterre prosecutor’s office is now entrusted to an investigating judge. Contacted by AFP, 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. “We take note of the indictment,” reacted to AFP the victim’s lawyer, Me Rachel Flore Pardo. “My client maintains all 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 had not initially complained
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 social network Instagram and went to his home on Saturday in a VTC (transport car with driver) 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.
One of the best right-backs in the world
Achraf Hakimi arrived at PSG in 2021 from Inter Milan. Considered one of the best right-backs in the world, he was part of the standard team of the year 2022 designated by the International Federation (Fifa) and revealed on Monday in Paris. The player had also participated in the gala evening organized by Fifa on Monday at the Salle Pleyel, a few hours after the revelation on the opening of the investigation targeting him for rape.