French court finds Saudi princess complicit in beating up workman
The princess, 43, the sister of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, had denied any wrongdoing
A French court on Thursday found the daughter of the King of Saudi Arabia complicit in violence with the threat of a weapon and complicit in kidnapping, and sentenced her to a 10-month suspended prison sentence.
In their indictment, prosecutors had accused Princess Hassa bint Salman of ordering a bodyguard to beat up a workman in her luxury flat in Paris.
According to the indictment, workman Ashraf Eid told police the bodyguard bound his hands, punched and kicked him and forced him to kiss the princess' feet after she accused him of filming her on his cell phone.
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He said that as he was being beaten, Princess Hassa treated him like a dog and said to him "you'll see how you speak to a princess, how you speak to the royal family".
The princess, 43, the sister of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, had denied any wrongdoing. Ahead of the trial's opening, her French lawyer, Emmanuel Moyne, said the investigation was based on falsehoods.
The princess was not in court for the verdict.
Saudi royalty has faced legal problems in France before.
In 2013, a French court ordered the French assets of Saudi Princess Maha al-Sudairi, wife of the former interior minister Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz, to be seized over unpaid bills at a luxury hotel totalling almost 6 million euros ($6.7 million).
