The sister of Saudi Arabia's crown prince will face trial next month, accused of ordering her bodyguard to beat up a workman.

Princess Hassa bint Salman is expected to be absent from the trial which is to take place in Paris on 9 July, according to a legal source quoted by news agency AFP.

The victim had been hired to refurbish the princess's apartment in an ultra-expensive part of the French capital in September 2016.

When he took a photograph of a room where the work was to be done, the princess accused him of wanting to sell it to the media.

Then she allegedly ordered her bodyguard to assault him, shouting: "Kill him, the dog, he doesn't deserve to live."


The workman said he was punched in the face and his hands were tied before he was forced to kiss her feet.

He was allowed to leave the apartment hours later but his tools were allegedly confiscated and he was off work for eight days.

The bodyguard was charged in 2016 with armed violence, theft, issuing death threats and holding someone against their will.

But Princess Hassa fled France and a warrant was issued for her arrest in December 2017.

She has not been apprehended.

The princess is the sister of Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Said to be aged in her 40s, she has been praised by Saudi media for her work in charity and women's rights.