Daughter of Saudi Arabia’s King Salman and sister of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has been convicted for making her bodyguard beat and humiliate a local craftsman who was renovating her luxury apartment in Paris three years ago.
According to CNN, a French court handed Princess Hassa bint Salman Al Saud a 10-month suspended sentence and a fine of $11,000. She was sentenced in absentia and found guilty of armed violence and complicity to hold someone against their will. Meanwhile, Salman’s bodyguard was given an eight-month suspended prison sentence and directed to pay a fine of $5,600.
Ashraf Eid, an Egyptian-born French national, had alleged that the princess’s bodyguard attacked him after she accused him of taking photos and videos of her in September 2016. He alleged the guard hit him, tied up his wrists, put a gun to his head and ordered him to kiss the princess’s feet.
Eid previously said he was working in a bathroom in the apartment on Paris’ exclusive Avenue Foch and took photographs of the furniture “for reference” when he noticed the princess’s reflection in the mirror. He shared that when the princess saw him, she allegedly ordered her bodyguard to take his phone. Eid claimed that the bodyguard then manhandled him and kicked him in the face.
Eid further added that the princess insulted him, saying, “You’re all the same, bastards, dogs. You’ll see how you should speak to a princess, how one should speak to the royal family.”
He said that the bodyguard then put a gun to the back of his head and gave him two choices: “Kiss the princess’s feet or risk further assault.”
After he was released from the apartment, Eid registered a complaint with the police who questioned the princess for two hours before letting her go. Three days later, she left the country.
Hassa’s lawyer denied all the charges and said that the princess is “totally innocent of the allegations that have been made against her.” He added that they would file for an appeal.
