French court confirm decision to send PSG defender Hakimi to trial for rape charges

[p]An appeals court confirmed on June 19th, during the World Cup, that Hakimi would stand trial in criminal court over the alleged rape of a woman in 2023, an accusation he has repeatedly denied.[/p][p]Hakimi, 27, had appealed that decision to the Court of Cassation, the highest court in the French judicial system for civil and criminal matters.[/p][p]The appeal was Hakimi's final legal recourse. In February, he was ordered to stand trial before the criminal court in the Hauts-de-Seine department on the rape charge.[/p][p]Hakimi challenged that initial order and then appealed to the Court of Cassation after the Versailles appeals court upheld the decision in June.[/p][p]"[b]The allegations against Achraf Hakimi, which he has firmly contested from day one, have not been examined by the Court of Cassation[/b]," the player's lawyer, Fanny Colin, told AFP.[/p][p]"[b]They will be during the trial, at which all the evidence in Achraf Hakimi's defence will be presented publicly[/b]," the lawyer continued.[/p][p]She added her client, "who has nothing to hide", had fully cooperated with police and judicial authorities throughout the investigation and would continue to do so during the forthcoming trial.[/p][embed guid="574bd3a5-499f-4d3b-980c-7640459366db" url="https://x.com/lequipe/status/2102756720393040162" social-type="twitter" /][p]A lawyer for the plaintiff said the decision to send the case to trial reflected the "strength and rigour of the court of appeal's reasoning".[/p][p]"[b]After three and a half years of legal battles, after being slandered and dragged through the mud by Achraf Hakimi's defence, my client is determined to obtain justice; she will fight to the very end[/b]," the woman's lawyer, Rachel-Flore Pardo, said in a statement sent to AFP.[/p][p]In February 2023, a woman then aged 24 told police in the Val-de-Marne region southeast of Paris that Hakimi had raped her.[/p][p]The plaintiff said she met Hakimi in January 2023 on Instagram and went to his home in a taxi the player ordered, a police source said at the time.[/p][p]She claimed the player kissed her, touched her without her consent and then raped her.[/p][p]She said she managed to push him away and text a friend, who came to pick her up.[/p][p]Hakimi was charged with rape a few days later.[/p][p]PSG said Hakimi "has always firmly denied the allegations against him" and continued to benefit from the presumption of innocence.[/p][p]"[b]The club is committed to ensuring a calm and respectful working environment for its player, in accordance with the fundamental principles of the rule of law[/b]," PSG said in a statement to AFP.[/p][p]The French champions also reiterated "their constant and unequivocal commitment to combating all forms of violence, particularly sexual violence."[/p]