Although he did not speak publicly about the rape charge, the Spanish TV program “Fiesta” revealed Ashraf Hakimi’s account of the case, after he spoke to one of his friends about the matter.
According to the program, Hakimi spoke to a close friend about his accusation of rape, saying that the matter was “orchestrated” and “he was deceived.”
The program revealed, according to the Spanish newspaper “AS”, that Hakimi’s friend, whose identity was not revealed, said that the Moroccan player’s family was suffering from the spread of the news of sexual assault.
Hakimi was formally charged with rape on Friday, according to the prosecutor’s office in Nanterre, a western suburb of the capital, Paris.
Prosecutors questioned Hakimi on Thursday following accusations by a 24-year-old woman of rape at the player’s home in Boulogne-Billancourt on February 25.
Prosecutors said that judicial control over Hakimi prevents him from communicating with the girl, yet he is authorized to leave French territory.
Investigators heard the plaintiff, on Wednesday, and her lawyer, Rachel Flor Pardot, told “Agence France Presse”: “We took note of the indictment. My client keeps all her statements. She chose to speak to justice exclusively and does not wish to publish the case for her safety.”
Case details
- The Nanterre Prosecutor’s Office has opened an investigation into a rape case targeting Hakimi.
- The investigation followed accusations by a 24-year-old woman who said she was raped at the player’s home in Boulogne-Billancourt on February 25, according to Le Parisien newspaper, in information confirmed by the source to AFP.
- Contacted by AFP, the Nanterre Prosecutor’s Office refused to comment, expressing its dissatisfaction with the “information published” in the press because it “undermines the investigations necessary to establish the truth.”
- According to the same source familiar with the case, this woman went to a police station in Val-de-Marne to report the incident, but she did not file a complaint.
- According to a police source, the plaintiff said that she met Hakimi in January on the “Instagram” application, and went to his house in a car that the player requested to take her.
- The source added that the plaintiff explained that Hakimi “raped” her, and said that a friend contacted her via a text message and came to pick her up.
- Hakimi, born in Spain, is married to Spanish actress Heba Abbouk, and they have two sons.
- Hakimi was one of the main pillars that led Morocco, at the end of last year in the World Cup in Qatar, to a historic achievement, after becoming the first African and Arab team to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup.
