Saudi Crown Prince’s Sister, Bodyguard Fight French Assault Case

(Bloomberg) -- The sister of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman denied allegations she ordered a bodyguard to strike a craftsman working in her father’s Paris apartment three years ago after she said she found out he had filmed her with his smartphone.

Lawyers for Hussa bint Salman and her bodyguard, Rani Saidi, also criticized the trial judge for omitting portions of witness statements that they said could help their case. One attorney also claimed during the hearing Tuesday in Paris that the craftsman offered last month to withdraw his complaint in exchange for 500,000 euros ($560,000).

A lawyer for the craftsman said the trauma caused by the incident made him “unable” to attend the hearing. The 42-year-old princess and Saidi face a maximum prison sentence of five years and up to 75,000 euros in fines. The judge will announce the verdict on Sept. 12.

The princess can’t allow anyone to take photos or videos of her for security reasons, according to her lawyers. That explains her reaction to the alleged September 2016 incident and why she wasn’t present at the trial, they said. It’s a constant concern and guards must handle incidents diplomatically, the bodyguard testified.

“In London, at Harrods or Selfridges, there are always people trying to take photos of her,” Saidi said, adding that a woman with such a large entourage necessarily attracts attention even when onlookers don’t know who she is. Saidi said that as in similar past circumstances, he remained courteous when handling the incident at the Paris apartment.

Both deny the craftsman was assaulted or prevented from leaving the apartment, located just west of the Champs-Elysees.

Emmanuel Moyne, a lawyer for the princess, said the craftsman told investigators that he voluntarily handed over his phone after the alleged incident.

“The only constraint he was under was that he knew he’d done something wrong,” Moyne said, referring to the craftsman. He also said he found it odd that the craftsman, who alleges he was physically and psychologically scarred, came back to the apartment four days after the incident to request 21,000 euros for his work.

“Fourteen people were interrogated in this case and not a single one of them witnessed violent acts,” said Saidi’s lawyer, Yassine Bouzrou, including the craftsman’s employee, who was present at the apartment.

To contact the reporter on this story: Gaspard Sebag in Paris at gsebag@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Anthony Aarons at aaarons@bloomberg.net, Heather Smith

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