Paris Saint-Germain defender Achraf Hakimi was charged with rape on Friday, according to French authorities. According to the prosecutor’s office in the Paris district of Nanterre, Hakimi was questioned by authorities looking into rape claims on Thursday. An investigating judge then indicted him and placed him under judicial supervision. Preliminary charges, according to French law, indicate that there is reason to think a crime has been committed, but it gives magistrates more time to investigate before determining whether to put the case to trial. Hakimi’s lawyer, Fanny Colin, claimed the player “strongly disputed claims made against him,” in a written letter to The Associated Press.
Colin stated that her client’s indictment is an “obligatory step for any person accused of rape” and that providing Hakimi access to the case will allow him to defend himself. Colin further stated that some evidence gathered by the judicial police shows that Hakimi “in this case has been subjected to a racketeering effort.” The Moroccan national team player has been barred from contacting the alleged victim, a 24-year-old woman who claims Paris Saint-Germain defender Achraf Hakimi raped her at his home in a Paris suburb on Saturday. Prosecutors said Hakimi is free to depart French territory.
According to Le Parisien, which broke the story earlier this week, the woman went to the police station on Sunday and accused him of rape. According to the woman’s lawyer, Rachel-Flore Pardo, preliminary charges demonstrate “solid and consistent evidence.” On Monday, prosecutors launched their preliminary inquiry. PSG coach Christophe Galtier declared during a press conference on Friday that he would “answer no questions of a non-sporting nature (related to) Achraf Hakimi.”
“My client chose to confide in justice, and only in justice, and will speak exclusively to justice,” she told the Associated Press in a statement. “We will not allow any destabilization or smear campaign (against her).”
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