Court of Cassation confirms Achraf Hakimi will stand trial for rape

The Court of Cassation has rejected Achraf Hakimi’s appeal, confirming that the Moroccan defender of Paris Saint-Germain will indeed be tried before the departmental criminal court of Hauts-de-Seine for rape accusations. The decision, reported by AFP on Wednesday, closes the final avenue of appeal the player had pursued to avoid trial.

“The Court of Cassation has rejected Achraf Hakimi’s appeal, finding that no serious grounds were likely to allow its admission, in accordance with the rapporteur’s opinion and the conclusions of the attorney general,” said Bertrand Périer, lawyer for the complainant, in a statement.

The case dates back to February 25, 2023, when a young woman went to the Nogent-sur-Marne police station to file a report. She claims to have suffered non-consensual digital penetration at the player’s home, with whom she had been exchanging messages via Instagram for several weeks. The investigating judge had referred Hakimi to the criminal court at the prosecutor’s request. The former Real Madrid player then appealed to the Versailles court of appeal, which rejected his request last June, before the Court of Cassation in turn confirmed this referral.

Hakimi has always denied any act of penetration, acknowledging only mutual embraces and consensual kissing. He spoke publicly a few weeks ago: “Today an accusation of rape is enough to justify a trial even though I contest it and everything shows it is false. It is as unjust for the innocent as for genuine victims. I await this trial with calm, which will allow the truth to come out publicly.”

The trial date has not yet been set.