Ali B loses appeal, is jailed for three years for two rapes

Dutch rapper and television presenter Ali Bouali has lost his appeal against one conviction for rape and one of sexual assault, and has now been found guilty of two rapes.

Judges at Amsterdam’s appeals court said on Thursday that Bouali should be jailed for three years for the rape of one woman named as Naomi, and singer and performer Ellen ten Damme. He was found not guilty of sexually assaulting a third woman, named as Jill Helena.

The sentence is higher than the 2.5 years demanded by the public prosecution department. Bouali was sentenced to two years in jail by lower court judges in 2024. Bouali’s repeated denial of raping the women counted in the severity of the sentence, the court said, describing his behaviour as “totally unacceptable”.

The 44-year-old from Almere was the only one of four men at the centre of a “me too” scandal at television talent show The Voice of Holland to end up in court.

A report on YouTube channel Boos in early 2022 claimed several dozen women had been harassed and abused by men behind the scenes at the programme. After the broadcast, the public prosecution appealed for victims to come forward and started a formal investigation.

Bouali was not in court to hear the verdict and had been allowed to await the appeal case at home. He has the right to make a further appeal.