Saudi crown prince's sister found guilty of making bodyguard beat up and humiliate a craftsman who was renovating her Paris apartment
- A Saudi Arabian princess was found guilty of ordering her bodyguard to beat and dehumanize a craftsman who was renovating her luxury Paris apartment by a French court Thursday.
- Plumber Ashraf Eid accused Princess Hassa, sister to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, of ordering Rani Saidi to tie his hands, beat him, and make him kiss her feet in September 2016.
- A Parisian court gave Princess Hassa a 10-month suspended sentence and a €10,000 (£11,093) fine.
- Saidi was given an eight-month suspended sentence and fined €5,000 ($5,547.)
- Princess Hassa had accused Eid of filming her when she saw him photographing a mirror in the luxury apartment her father King Salman owned on the prestigious Avenue Foch, close to the Arc de Triomphe.
- Eid said the princess ordered Saini to teach him a lesson, remarking: "You're all the same, bastards, dogs. You'll see how you should speak to a princess."
- The princess' lawyer said that she plans to appeal the ruling. "It is with great incredulity and indignation that we received ... this judgment," Emmanuel Moyne said.
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Mohammed bin Salman's sister, Princess Hassa bint Salman, was found guilty of ordering her bodyguard to beat up and humiliate a craftsman by a French court Thursday.
Plumber Ashraf Eid accused Princess Hassa's bodyguard Rani Saidi of handcuffing him, punching him in the head, and making him kiss the princess' feet, all on her orders, Reuters reported, citing the indictment.
The princess had accused Eid of taking a video of her on his phone while he worked at an apartment owned by her father King Salman of Saudi Arabia on Paris' prestigious Avenue Foch, close to the Arc de Triomphe, in September 2016.
On Thursday, a court gave Princess Hassa a 10-month suspended sentence and told her to pay €10,000 ($11,093), CNN reported.
Saidi was given an eight-month suspended sentence and ordered to pay €5,000 ($5,547.)
According to the indictment, Eid had taken a photo of a mirror in the apartment "for reference" while Princess Hassa was reflected in the glass.
The princess, King Salman's only daughter, accused Eid of filming her and ordered Saidi to teach him a lesson.
During a hearing in July, Saidi said he heard Princess Hassa call for help, so he "seized and overpowered him, I didn't know what he was after," the BBC reported.
Filming a princess without permission is a crime in Saudi Arabia.
According to Eid, the princess then remarked: "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."
Eid said he was held at gunpoint by Saidi, and given two choices: "Kiss the princess's feet or risk further assault."
Emmanuel Moyne, an attorney for Princess Hassa, told CNN that she plans to appeal the ruling.
"It is with great incredulity and indignation that we received ... this judgment," he said.
Princess Hassa consistently denied the allegations, and did not attend court for the verdict.